The Second Coming
by Galvanion
Summary: The plagues of war result in loss for everyone. Dread and regret compel us to search for any solution, regardless of the cost. Will a second chance prove worthwhile? Or will the losses become even greater? Star and Marco journey to find a way to prevent the forthcoming destruction of their home by searching dimensions for a myth which may just save their lives.
1. 1: Master of Puppets

**AN: I started writing this story during the middle of season 3, so there are definitely inconsistencies with the show. I tried to supplement the new information where I could without destroying the plot, but there are spots where I couldn't. Regardless, I hope you enjoy the first chapter!**

**-G**

* * *

Chapter 1

**Master of Puppets**

You know that feeling when you've royally screwed up? Not like the 'I stepped into a puddle with my socks on' or 'I set the kingdom on fire' kind of screwed up, but the big kind. The kind where no matter what you end up saying or doing, it will come back and haunt you for the rest of your life, because there's no way to change it. The kind of screw up where each night you wake up in a screaming terror, heart racing and drenched in sweat, only to find yourself focusing on those events that got you there. There is no worse fate than being forced to relive the psychological trauma which haunts every crevice of your mind, body, and soul for the rest of your mortal life. Even so, death won't fix what has already been done. It's the coward's way out. Leaving your own mess for someone else to either clean up or pass on to the next person, until someone _might_ decide to do something about it. This isn't something which should be left for others to deal with. This is my own mess, and I'll be the one to fix it. There is no length I wouldn't go in order to save the love of my life. I just hope that what I'm about to do doesn't doom us all.

/ ... - ... / ... - ... / ... - ... /

A large shadow-cloaked figure entered the dark room and started making its way toward the lone, dimly lit table at the center. The room was encompassed in swirling vortexes of vibrant hues which flowed like the twisting arms of galaxies. The shadow spoke to a small, cloaked, one armed creature who was already seated and rhythmically tapping against the wood in front of it.

"So, I see you've finally made it to The Aether. It's a miracle that you've gotten this far. Your feeble body shouldn't have remained in one piece during the rematerialization process. Regardless, you will not be able to bear the burden this dimension requires of its inhabitants." The shadow spoke condescendingly as it pulled out a chair across from the small creature and stared down at the creature. "Before this is through, you will be dead, and I will reclaim what was taken from me." The shadow glanced at the checkerboard pattern centered on the table and hummed. "But for now I suppose we're stuck with this. You know, it's quite interesting where this game originated. During the creation of this dimension, the gods wanted a simple way to determine the fate of mortals. Though, those times have passed, and the old have forsaken this trivial competition."

The small creature met the gaze of the shadow. Its stature mimicked that of a statue; strong, rigid, and unwavering. Though its eyes told a different story entirely. Someone who had seen the worst reality had to offer, and was left to tell the horrid tale. Exhaustion and misery were engulfed by inner turmoil and regret, much like their own.

Small, mirror image pieces materialized on both sides of the board, one in red and one in green. The creature picked up one of the red pieces and examined it. As the piece was twisted and turned, it came to a realization. "It's chess. An old Earth game from over a millennium ago." Placing it back down, the creature looked across the table to the shadow, glaring at the board with discontent. "So, I suppose you've come here wanting to change the events as well?"

The shadow raised its eyes back up to meet its competitor.. "Of course." The creature pulled itself closer to the table and placed both of its elbows on the surface. "But enough with the formalities, if you've gotten this far, then surely you know of the rules to the game."

"Right to business, as always. Of course I know the rules. After collecting the life essence from both of us, we each choose mortals to represent our pieces. We move the pieces according to chess rules, but only the mortals the pieces represent can interact with one another in face to face confrontations and choose whether or not to attack their intended targets. The winner is determined when either player is unable to make a move resulting in their king's freedom.

"If nothing else you're well informed." The shadow started to radiate a dim dark green aura. It drew its thumb up and bit it, allowing blood to spill. The shadow placed its thumb over the top of the game board and let the droplets fall, tainting the pristine board.

The creature followed, but instead became illuminated in a faint red aura. It bit its thumb and let the blood drop and soak into the board.

"And I am sure that you are aware of the cost if the battle is lost?" The shadow questioned.

"I am. But at this point, I'm willing to pay any price to fix what I've broken."

"Very well, then let us begin. Since you arrived first, you may have the first move."

Both competitors began speaking in unison "I hereby place my soul to thee, As I willingly consent to-"

"Woah woah woah!" A floating blue man wrapped in beige robes appeared holding both of his hands up towards the players.

"Glossaryck? What're you doing here? And why are you almost normal sized?" The creature spoke, obviously surprised by the sudden appearance of the blue man.

"Don't start with my size. And ever since those jerks left this little game here, one which I would _highly_ recommend against playing by the way, I was the one 'chosen' to referee any following matches." He crossed his arms and slightly puckered his lips as he recalled the events leading to his delegation. "They should know that all powerful magical beings have too much on their plates to begin with anyway. I can barely have a minute of peace and quiet with my pudding before some schmuck wants to go and change the timeline! No offense my liege." He hunched courtly and the creature nodded back. "Look, all I'm trying to say, is that you should really think twice before entering this sort of agreement." He pointed an accusatory finger.

The creature let out a hefty sigh. Having thought through its plan day and night for weeks on end, it was more than accepting of the fate which would present itself if the creature lost. "I appreciate your concern. I really do. But you know as well as I do that no amount of conduit, normal, or even royal magic can fix this. I need celestial magic. I've tried every other way I could possibly find. I searched far and wide for anything that could help me, but in the end, it didn't even matter. Nothing was changed and none of my wrongs were righted. I can't do this any other way, and I know what'll happen to me if I lose, but I need to do this. I need to do this for them." The creature pulled out a small picture and looked at it with guilt and regret in their eyes and a hollow feeling in their chest. It smoothed its thumb over the varying faces reliving fond memories with each of them. "They may not seem worth trying for to you, but they were my friends. My best friends. My love. I can't turn my back on them when they need me most. Even if it costs me everything, I'll have to try. If I lose, at least I'll know that I gave it my best shot."

Glossaryck sighed and put a hand on the creature's back. "Well if you insist on this incessant stunt, I should at least give you a friendly hint. Sometimes the best move, isn't in your head." He looked back over to the shadow across the table and nodded. Its eyes began to glow green as it stared back at the tiny blue man with an expression of pure hatred. "Why can't these things ever be simple?" Glossaryck muttered. "Alright. I see that you've both paid the price to partake. Have you selected your mortals?"

"Yes." They replied in unison.

"Okay then. I already know that I'm going to regret doing this, but take your oath, and begin."

The shadow and the creature both began, individual auras glowing brighter with each word.

"I hereby place my soul to thee,

As I willingly consent to free

My will and life unto the victor,

Knowing no contract may be stricter.

The changes made will not be known

Those affected cannot be shown

Give me the power of the plane,

To alter reality and play this game."

As the last words were spoken a bright flash of light encompassed the entire room, painting everything angelic white for a split second. As the light retreated, bands of mixed green and red appeared on both player's left wrist.

"Well, now that you're both stuck until someone wins, and more importantly _I'm_ stuck here until someone wins, you'd better start." Glossaryck stated rather impatiently while pulling out a pudding cup. "Seeing as how my other warning fell on deaf ears, I shouldn't be wasting my breath, but, my liege, it's best you don't get attached to your pieces. That could lead to… Let's say, less than stellar outcomes."

"What do you mean?" The creature asked inquisitively.

"Well," Glossaryck began while pointing his cup at the creature "the last time someone was in your position and became rather.. _attached_ to a game piece, they were sucked into the game as a new piece, never to be heard from again. The gods wanted no part of the mortal's fates intertwined with their own, and so it's an unspoken rule that any player violating these conditions does not deserve to hold that power, and is punished accordingly." He shoved a rather large spoonful of pudding into his mouth. "Scho…" He swallowed, "just don't do it, okay?"

"They… Huh?" The creature raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Enough!" The shadow commanded, slamming its fist on the table which emitted a loud echo through the room. It straightened its posture and fixed its shirt, freeing any wrinkles. "This exchange of information is trivial and should've been addressed before the start of the game. The only reason we're here is to duel for our own paths, and unless you decide to resign this instant, we will begin the game." It pointed a finger at Glossaryck "And you. I will hear none of your incessant rambling. Unless your next words are specifically regarding regulations, you will speak no more." Glossaryck put his free hand and cup in the air showing surrender.

"You're right" the creature confirmed, giving full attention to the looming shadow across the board. "And you said that I have the first move." The creature looked down at the board and back to the opponent. '_This is going to be a long game. But there's no game long enough that I wouldn't play to fix what I did and bring you back. I'm coming for you, and you'd better be damn sure that I'll destroy anything in my path to get to you.'_

"F1 E3."

/ .- . - ... . .-. /

"Star!" Marco cried as he frantically ran behind her in a desperate attempt to keep pace. Even though Marco was stronger and faster than at fifteen, twenty years old still wasn't quite enough to handle their current situation. The rapid padding of his shoes against the forest floor was strong and elegant as they dashed through brush which began to accumulate on his black pants and red hoodie. "Why would you think that grabbing a stupid jewel from a cave protected by a five-story lizard, bird… THING, would be a good idea!?" Star and Marco continued to dash through the thick jungle, dodging and weaving between the trees. "Your family's rich! Why risk our lives for that thing?" He pointed to the small gemstone glowing in Star's hand. It was pitch black with swirls of deep purple and blue, and speckled white throughout. It glowed with a deep blue aura surrounding it.

"Well if you _really_ must know Marco, it's called Orion's Buckle, and it's not like I can just go out and buy one. Besides, what's better than getting what you want through good old fashioned hard work?" Star gave a bubbly smile to him. They rounded a particularly large tree and ran behind it, pressing their backs against it. Despite their heavy breathing, they heard no sign of the monster chasing them. After a few seconds Star spoke back up. "I think that we gave him the slip."

The monster cried out with a deep bellowing roar that shook the ground they were standing on, causing them to stumble and grab the tree for support.

"Then again, this wouldn't be the first time I was proven wrong…" She shrugged and gave a sheepish smile.

"RUN!" They both screamed. Vibrations from the roar pulsated through their bodies and rang in their ears. They continued to run through the forest in a desperate attempt to lose their pursuer.

A quick look back gave them their first full view of the monster chasing them through the thinning tree line. It stood close to twenty feet high and over five times that in length with the scaly body closely resembling an alligator, but colored a light shade of red. Long sharp spines ran down its back and tail, and massive claws extended from all of its digits. It looked as though it were in plenty of battles before with the multitude of scars all over its body. And if its serrated teeth weren't enough, it began to unfold its dragon-like wings that spanned farther than a jumbo jet. With another deafening roar, it started to beat its powerful wings, snapping any nearby trees as it rose into the sky.

Star skidded to a stop and turned around to face the beast. "Hell Heart Hurricane!" A swirling storm of fire and hearts spiraled out of her wand and raced towards the monster, licking the trees as it expanded. The fire engulfed the flying behemoth as smoke poured out on impact, but only for a moment as it quickly flew out of the attack. The red gator dove directly at Star, stopping about twenty yards from her as it swung its tail towards her. The strike took a chunk out of the ground between them. Star jumped to the side, barely escaping the destruction that was just feet from her. She looked back towards where the tail scraped the ground to see a trench where she was just standing.

The creature dropped to the ground and cried out as it spun its body, whipping its tail at Star. But this time it made contact and propelled her through a few nearby trees. She tumbled across the ground before skidding to a stop in a cloud of dust.

"Star!" Marco saw her lying limply on the ground, too far out of reach. He started running towards her only to be stopped dead in his tracks by the monster landing in front of him. It let out a deafening roar as it touched down. The large creature stared him down with its sharp black eyes and began crawling towards him. Marco tensed up, barely able to breathe with the lump in his throat growing and his stomach in sickenly tight knots. With each passing stomp the creature took the ground sook more and more until a snout was mere feet from Marco, encasing him in heat with each exhalation. Marco closed his eyes tight and turned his head away from the beast expecting to be today's lunch, but nothing happened. He opened his eyes and slowly turned his head back to the beast, silently pleading it to go away. The creature continued to stare him down for a few moments and with one forceful breath, knocked Marco to the ground. The massive reptile opened its wings and with a few mighty beats, began to take to the air. Marco watched from his back as the strong winds ruffled and dislodged the leaves on the surrounding trees as the creature cleared the tree line, flying back toward the temple from which they came.

Marco stood there in shock. He did a quick pat down to make sure that he was actually there and it wasn't just the illusion of death. "I don't understand…" He whispered to himself. "Why would that thing just fly away? I couldn't do anything to it. Especially since Star-" he stopped wide eyed at the sudden realization that his best friend was lying motionless a couple hundred yards away. "STAR!" He yelled as he took off sprinting towards her motionless body. He slid on his knees a few feet away from her and angled her upward as he checked her neck for a pulse, and placed his ear to her mouth where he heard soft but raspy breathing. "Oh thank God." He said while letting out a heavy sigh of relief.

He took a moment to look around and realized that her wand wasn't in her hand. "Better grab that before we leave though." Marco stood up and started looking around for her wand. Not being able to find it anywhere close by, he started moving towards where Star was knocked back by the creature. He spotted something shimmering by the small break in the ground created by the creature's tail and walked over to it to see the gemstone that Star was dead set on retrieving. "All of this for what? A stupid little stone? I guess it looks kinda neat, but definitely not worth getting killed over." He put the stone in his pocket and continued looking around for Star's wand. He found it a few feet away from the small trench and began walking back over towards her. When he got closer he could hear her mumbling something and picked up the pace to get close to her.

"No, the.. Cela- Marco? But..." Star mumbled as she began to stir more and more.

"Star!" Marco yelled as he ran and hunched beside her, helping her sit up.

"Marco? Where- Where are we?" Star's eyes softened as she looked straight up at him. _He looks like an angel_ she thought to herself. Her eyes widened as she tensed up. "Oh no. Did I die?" She began to panic, quickly looking around and then down to her slashed and bruised arms.

"No Star, you're not dead." Marco chuckled. "We're both still alive in this jungle. But that flying alligator thing left. I still don't know why..."

"Wait." She stared at him and pulled him in close. "_You_ beat that thing all by yourself? How?"

"Hey! First off, I'm a little offended that you think I couldn't take that thing on by myself." He half boasted, loosening her grip on him. "And second, I didn't actually do anything. It just landed in front of me, looked at me for a few seconds, and then took off. Almost like I wasn't worth it…" He sighed.

"Oh Marco, I'm sure you could've held your own against the Guardian. I mean, you couldn't have done that much worse than I did." She gave him a big grin, eliciting a small chuckle from Marco.

"Wait." Marco furrowed his brow. "The Guardian? You knew that thing would be there?" He asked accusatively.

"_Wellll…_" Star began "From what I understood, it would be guarded by a hundred foot flying lizard monster. But come on, those stories are told so often and so differently that I figured it was just some little bird that people had mistaken for a giant monster. I guess they were right after all though." Her gaze fell to the ground and her shoulders slouched. "I'm sorry Marco, I put your life in real danger here. Not like some typical fight against the mediocre monsters we usually face, but against something that could have actually killed you… Killed both of us."

"Hey." Marco crouched down and put a hand on her shoulder, "If I could only go on routine mediocre monster missions with you, then life really wouldn't be all that exciting anyways. I'd much rather have these high risk adventures. I'm a misunderstood bad boy remember?" He smiled at her.

She looked down at the hand on her shoulder then back to where it came from. "Thanks Marco." She said, giving him a soft smile.

"But I'm still the safe kid too. And with the way you're beat up," he gestured to her "I think we should get you back and looked at. Just in case, you know?" Marco stood up and reached his arm out towards her.

"Psh. You're a safe kid through and through." Star laughed, taking his hand and pulling herself to her feet as Marco rolled his eyes. "Hold on" Star said as she patted herself down. "Where's my wand? And Orion's Buckle?"

"Oh, while you were passed out I went and grabbed them from where the Guardian hit you." He pointed back to where Star got drilled across the forest. She looked over then back to him and he held both items out for her to take.

"Good. Because if we went through all of this and didn't come back with what we came here for, I would be _sooo_ mad." She grabbed both the wand and gemstone from Marco, placing the stone in her pocket. She looked down at her bruised arms. "I think I might be able to heal myself. I have been getting pretty good at medical spells." She twirled her wand confidently between her fingers before it bounced off her thumb and fell to the ground.

"Mhm." Marco just looked at her, his disbelief highly prominent. "You know, even with your improved skills, I still think that you should leave the healing to the professionals. We wouldn't want another Monster Arm incident." He said while rubbing his right arm.

Star rolled her eyes "Cause _temporary_ damage, and endanger the life and bowels of a child _one_ time and you never get to live it down."

Marco chuckled "Yeah okay, that may have been a low blow. But still, it's probably better you see the healers anyhow. You may have gotten hurt more than you know."

"Ugh. Fine." She said annoyed. Though she continued to stare at him, just waiting for him to move.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" He started feeling all over his face trying to find anything that could be wrong.

"No." She deadpanned. "You're the one with the scissors." She pointed to his pocket.

"Oh yeah…" He chuckled sheepishly, pulling out his dimensional scissors and giving them a quick snip. "Well! Let's get you healed up!" He tore a hole through the air, manifesting a portal of swirling blue and white colors and gestured for Star to make her way through.

"Why thank you, my squire." She spoke courtly as she patted him on the shoulder.

"Hey!" He retorted defensively "You know damn well that I'm a knight now."

Star just giggled and hopped through the portal, fully ignoring Marco's opposition.

/ ... . -. - .-. -.- /

Star and Marco appeared out of the portal in Star's room of the castle. Star stretched and flopped down on her bed face first with Marco in tow. She flipped around onto her back and looked down to see Marco standing directly over her with arms crossed giving her a disapproving look.

"I know I said I'd go, but I'm fine Marco. Really. There's no need for me to go to the medical ward and see the mages there. All they're going to do is tell me to take it easy and drink a healing potion, which I have plenty of lying around in my room." She gestured to the few bottles lying around the room. Some with small amounts of red liquid still in them. "I've had plenty of experience with hurting myself on mini adventures before I even came to Earth, not to mention all of the ones we took together." However, Marco continued to stand there, his glare still piercing down onto her.

She sat up and stared back into Marco's brown, unforgiving eyes, and for the next moment they were locked in ocular combat. Marco knew that she could do this all day, and frankly, after the near death experience he was put through today, he was not in the mood for it. Going against the friendly, but serious, competition that they both knew would end in his defeat, he decided to bite the bullet and let her off easy. This time.

"Fine." He replied, clearly annoyed at her takeback. "But you have to take one of your potions. And pick up these bottles too. You look like an alcoholic." He grabbed one of the nearby bottles and attempted a free throw towards the trash can across the room, but missed it and shattered the bottle against the wall instead.

"Nice shot, Michael Jackson." Star said condescendingly, as she stood up and stretched.

"Jordan." Marco replied sternly. "It's Michael Jordan. Michael Jackson was pop singer who was one of the greatest showmen who lived. He was most certainly _not_ a basketball player."

"Well from that toss, neither are you." Star smiled and patted him on the back as she walked over to her shelf pulling a bottle of red elixir. She popped the top of the bottle off and began to chug the potion like college student five drinks in.

"So, you never actually told me, what's with this Orion's Buckle thing anyway? Why did we risk our necks to get it? It looks like a really cool stone, but I'm sure you could've commissioned someone to do that sort of design and just paid them right? I mean, we almost _died_ there. Like, _actually_ died. Is it some sort of intergalactic beacon, or can it let you control the minds of other people? Oh! Or is it some sort of magical jewel that can let you see into the future for-"

"MARCO!" Star slammed her empty bottle on the desk next to her. "Must you ramble like that? Wouldn't 'What is it?' be a good enough _single_ question?" She let out an exasperated sigh, but felt a little bad at the outburst. After all, she acted that way on occasion too. "If you must know, Orion's Buckle was thought to be a long-lost artifact of the ancient Mewmans. It was a part of the beginning of civilization as we know it today. This one crystal was used not only as a power source for ancient technology, but also as a source for the improvement of health and wellness of the people of that era. Those who were guardians of the crystal were given increased life spans from just being near the crystal, and they never got sick, hurt, tired or even sad. It brought nothing but good fortune to the citizens of ancient Mewni." Star wandered back over to her bed and pulled out the gemstone, looking at it with a smile.

"If this thing was so great and powerful, then why wasn't it kept by them until now? Did they misplace it? Because I would hate to be the guy who lost the greatest thing that ever happened to a society in their known history." He spoke grimly, imagining all the ancient Earthen torture methods which were imposed on those who have done far less than that. Stonings, floggings, crucifixion, the iron maiden, rat torture, the breaking wheel. He shivered and shook his head trying to get away from the cruel methods polluting his mind.

"Well it's a long story and honestly, I'm just not feeling going through the whole thing right now."

Marco frowned and the sight of it gave Star a slight pain in her chest. "But, how about I just give you the abridged version, okay?" She reluctantly asked. He nodded in response, visibility peeking up. Star sat on the bed and patted the spot next to her, which Marco gratefully accepted. "Okay, so… Basically, there was a massive Monster uprising centuries ago against the kingdom, since, you know, we kinda stole their land and drove them out. For a few weeks there were unorganized rogue attacks on the kingdom. Just your little get together of mercenaries and Monsters who wanted the fall of the kingdom. And just like now, there was a major defense mechanism to the kingdom. But back then it was called the Wretched Automatic Suspensive Propulsor, and the stone was used as the major power source for that, other minor defenses, and some offensive mechanisms too. So, back to the incoming monster attacks on the kingdom. The stone was set to power the defensive functionality, and was doing a pretty good job at keeping the smaller pinpointed attacks on the flanks at bay. But the queen at the time, Queen Galexa, caught word of a massive all-out attack in its final stages of planning. So, trying to be swift and find a solution since the Monsters heavily outnumbered the Mewmans, Galexa summoned her most trusted mage, Maren. Maren was tasked with finding some sort of super weapon that could aid the troops in fighting an all-out assault. Something that could make even Ludo a force to be reckoned with. She worked day and night after being tasked with such a high priority mission. Some say she was killing herself with the amount of work, and lack of sleep and eating she went through in those few weeks."

Star adjusted herself and sat cross legged towards Marco. She held the stone out towards him insisting he take it. He grabbed it and turned it all around attempting to find some answers within its galactic confines. How could something so miniscule exert such power? It was almost as though he was holding a supernova in the palm of his hand. He looked up to Star, feeling a bit anxious over what she was about to tell him. She continued.

"But nobody could argue with her results. What Maren came up with was that of Mewman legend. Maybe a little too much so... She created a sword, so powerful, that not even her own intense magic could contain the energy radiating from it. Mainly because it used Orion's Buckle as its power source. Her eldest apprentice also tried to contain it with a world-renowned containment spell. Unfortunately, he was wrapped up in a swell of magic which drained his life force and turned him to ash. Maren claimed that when he did that there was a surge of intense light followed by a pile of dust with the sword on top of it. She told Galexa, and soon enough word of it spread through the kingdom, but nobody was brave enough to touch it, not even the Queen. So, Maren went back to work on a less powerful version, hoping to make something that wouldn't kill its user. But it was too late. The monsters began their attack on Mewni. The Mewmans were outnumbered, and without a trump card like the first sword, their fate was sealed. The reserve troops were hailed, young and old, weak and strong, to defend our home... They ended up getting slaughtered. It was like the Monsters were ripping through wet tissue, leaving nothing but silence behind them. There was no chance for us."

Marco sat there for a moment, trying to absorb the density of the old Mewman's situation. He bit his lip and hunched over before speaking again. "Wow. And Mewmans are incredibly powerful as it is. Like, your dad carried us how many miles to Old Youthful when we were out camping in like 10 minutes."

"Yeah. My dad is pretty great." Star said with a small smile on her face. "But that's not the end either. Obviously." She gestured to the room around them.

"Right. Sorry for interrupting. Continue."

"So there they were, dropping by the thousands, when an enormous flash of light emerged from behind the Mewman troops. Atop the hill behind them, engulfed in a blinding glow, stood the newest knight of the Queen's Guard. Lady Celacia. Holding Maren's first sword. She looked over the battlefield while engulfed in a bright red glow, without the repercussion of an ashy demise. She made her way to the front line and began carving down the attacking monsters with finesse that would've impressed even Solaria. Some even called her the Celestial Wind for how she blew through the troops. All it took was one slash and they were down. Nobody stood a chance against her. Nobody except the leader of the monster army, King Rahczar. There are so many accounts and stories of the battle between them that nobody knows the true details, but he was able to match her strength with the sword, no matter what version you hear. Eventually she won, though not by that much from what I've read. But it was enough that they were able to keep Mewni under Mewman control. It was a great victory that day, and from that point forward, Celacia was deemed the sword's one true holder. She was hailed as a hero and the legendary sword was named 'Celacia's Sword' after her. There were a few more incidents where she used it in battle, but they all paled in comparison to the first time."

"So, what happened to the crystal? By the sound of it, it should have just stayed in the sword. It seems like they were good enough at protecting it." Marco pointed out, scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah… That's the weird part. When Celacia died, the stone disappeared along with her. She was holding the sword when she died and as soon as she took her last breath, the stone vanished right out of the sword, and she and the sword shortly followed. Nobody knew what happened to it so they started blaming each other. Some blamed it on those in the room where she died. Some blamed it on Celacia herself, saying she cursed the stone to vanish when she was no longer able to use it. It sparked distrust among the nobles and no matter how hard or how long any of them tried, they were never able to find it."

"Well it's here now, so it obviously didn't disappear. And you said there were people trying to track it down before us, right? They must've known that it didn't disappear either. So, it was just teleported to a random location so someone else could find it?" He furrowed his brow. "That's weird."

"I know, Marco. But nobody knew where it was, and yet, here we are, with the thing in our hands. So maybe we just had the best luck, or maybe it's just fate saying that we're the ones who need to have it. Either way, we found a powerful piece of ancient history, and now I just need to figure out the right time to inform everyone about it so we can continue to prosper." She gave a small smile to the stone, which Marco returned to her.

Balling her fist with the stone inside, Star bounced up off the bed and smoothed out her dress as she walked over to a small jewelry box. "I'll just place you in here, little guy, so nobody catches wind of you." Closing the box with the stone now safely inside, she patted it and walked back over to Marco. "I think it goes without saying that this is going to be our little secret. I do plan on letting one more person in on it, but for now it stays between us, okay?"

"Okay…" He said skeptically. Marco trusted Star with what she was doing, but knowing who else would be in on this wouldn't be the worst thing, would it? He figured he should just drop it and trust his best friend. He would know soon enough anyway. Though with curiosity overpowering him, he decided to press just a bit more. "But hey, I've kept plenty of secrets. Like that one time at the wedding when we-"

"Yeah let's not talk about that one." Star interrupted. "And you didn't even keep it for that long." Marco seemed to accept her choice after her call out.

"Regardless, as your personal knight, I will not let anything stand in the way of your wishes, my princess!" Marco proclaimed dramatically, putting a fist over his heart. "For it is my sole purpose in life, to ensure that no harm, be it physical, emotional, or psychological, will come to you!" Star rolled her eyes and pushed Marco onto his side, both of them laughing.

_Knock Knock SLAM!_

"STAR!" King River bellowed as he stood above the now broken door which lay on the floor. The stout king was covered in his royal blue robes complete with grey pants, black boots, and golden cape. "Your ex-boyfriend, Thomas? I can barely even _think_ straight anymore! He's been in the royal chamber clamoring on about seeing you for the past half an hour! It's driving me mad! I had no idea where you were, and I tried getting him to leave peacefully-" River moved close to her and began to whisper "between you and me, I wanted to kick him out of the room like I have your aunts and uncles while playing flags, but your _mother_ wouldn't have any part of it. Says it's 'improper' or some sort of nonsense like that." He cleared his throat and moved back a few steps continuing at a normal volume. "But he wouldn't go. So I need you to come with me right away so I can get him out of here. My hunt is coming soon, and I need to be fully prepared for it!" He grabbed Star's wrist and began pulling her out of the room.

"Dad! I was in the middle of something with Marco!" She countered, trying to free herself from her father's iron grasp.

"You can get back to making out after you get rid of Tom." Her eyes grew three sizes as her face erupted into a vibrant shade of red. She snapped her head directly away from Marco. River stopped in his tracks for a moment. "Hmm. Actually, Marco, he mentioned you too. You'd better come with as well. I won't have him staying longer looking for you too." He turned around and grabbed Marco by the wrist with his other hand, dragging them both out the door.

"Woah!" Marco cried as he was pulled to the ground, drug beside Star, who was refusing to look at him.

Stuck being pulled by the king and ignored by Star, Marco decided to look around the halls for some entertainment. He saw the same old portraits that he always had when he ventured to see Star, but something felt off. Like there was something missing. But he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Deciding to ignore it for the time being, he looked over to Star who was sharing the same bored expression he was, blankly staring at the shrinking halls being left behind. He smirked and looked forward again, waiting for whatever kind of 'nonsense' awaited them in the throne room.

/ .- .- .-. / -. . ...- . .-. / -.-. ... .- -. -. . ... /

"Thomas!" River bellowed while forcefully opening the doors to the throne room. "Here they are. Now please make this quick because I have important matters to take care of before my trip!"

Having let go of them during their trip through the halls, Star and Marco strolled into the large room behind River murmuring to one another.

"It just seems like a dumb concept for a show. I mean really. What's the point of watching a show about someone who always wins after one attack? It's _super_ predictable and you know the outcome of every battle. Honestly, it just seems like a waste of time." Star shrugged.

"It's not the outcome of the battles that are important. It's about the journey in getting there. About how the situation improves character development and how they each learn and grow from every encounter. Not to mention the other battles are awesome between different characters and you don't necessarily know the outcome of those." Marco argued back.

"Ugh. I just don't feel like-"

"Star! Marco!" Tom yelled from across the room. He began walking toward them with a big smile plastered across his face. "How are two of my favorite people doing on this fine day?" He was dressed up in a black tuxedo trimmed in white with a white burning tie, searching his internal pockets for something. He pulled out two envelopes from them and handed one to both Star and Marco.

"What's this?" Star asked, looking down at the envelope with 'Star' written in large wavy writing.

"Well open it up. Both of you." Tom pushed, seeming a little too eager.

Star and Marco tore open their respective envelopes pulling out a card with a demonic red brick castle on the front, surrounded by pillars of fire and thunderstorms with various corpses of all types of Monsters and Mewmans plaguing the foreground. They opened the card and began to read.

_You have been cordially invited to the 20th_ _birthday celebration of Prince Thomas Lucitor, held within the confines of the Underworld Kingdom Castle. The celebration begins on the 28th_ _day of Cerulia at 8pm. You may bring one additional guest of your choosing who must also adhere to the night's theme: A Dark Day in Mewni. Please RSVP by no later than the first day of Celadon._

_Yours in Death,_

_Thomas Lucitor_

"I hope you'll both be there. And I spent a lot of time going back and forth on whether or not I should have included all the corpses on the front given that I'm trying to be a more down to Mewni man, but I figured that because the theme is 'A Dark Day in Mewni,' the whole mass amount of dead people would fit. Plus, death, it's kind of my thing, ya know?" Tom gave a cool smile, slipping his hands into his jacket pockets. "So, what do you say? Are you guys going to come? It's going to be a _killer_ party." He walked behind them both giving Star and Marco a nudge.

"Gee Tom, I don't know. Whenever something at your parties goes even slightly aloof, you always overreact and end up fizzling out the whole place. Like at your party last year when that one guy stole your spotlight on the dancefloor. You knocked him clear across the room and he was in the hospital for three days. Those things just don't end up keeping the whole 'party' feeling going, you know?" Star ended feeling a little upset with herself, using that specific example to get her point across. But it was the most memorable occurrence.

"Yeah." Marco agreed. "Not to mention the whole unconscious part followed by bills that took out all of my savings." He stared Tom down, having successfully buried those memories until now.

"Hey, I can't apologize enough for what happened that night." Tom began sympathetically. "And I did end up giving you back that money since I was the one that caused it. But I've really been trying since that incident to better myself. I've gone to all of my anger management classes and I've also been doing very well in keeping my anger in check on a day to day basis. I've also gotten myself another pocket bunny _and_ a portable demon shield to try and suppress or expel my rage when it begins to overwhelm me. And just because I was having a rough time that night, doesn't mean I should have taken out my frustration on you. Again, I'm _very_ sorry." He met Marco's gaze, truly filled with the remorse of his misdoings.

Marco was hesitant about accepting the apology; he looked him up and down trying to gauge on if he was actually regretful of his actions. The demon prince seemed as though he had bettered himself after his first fall off the wagon in years, and Marco sighed, knowing full well how much effort Tom put in afterwards.

"Well..." Marco began, "I have gotten a lot better at fighting. And I'm pretty sure I'd be able to take you on if you're lying to me." Tom cracked a challenging smile. "I'll go, but if you start causing havoc, I'm taking you down."

Tom's grin widened at the last remark and stuck out his hand towards Marco. "Deal. Though, I want to see how good you've gotten regardless. I think we should have a sparring match."

"I don't think you'd want to go home a loser." Marco retorted.

"Oh, don't think I won't take you on right now. I may be in a suit, but if anyone can fight with finesse, it's me."

"Boys, boys, you're both beautiful, but let's not do this right now. Though when you do, my money's on Marco." Star patted Tom on the back as she started to walk towards the large entranceway to the throne room.

"Hey!" Tom griped, a sour look plastered on his face. "Ugh, whatever. So, Star, are you going to be at the party? You never actually answered." He asked optimistically, still bracing himself to be told off.

Star hummed, overexaggerating her thoughts. It seemed important to him so she figured what harm could come, especially when she could shut him down pretty easily. But why not have some fun with it? "Yeah, I guess I'll come too. Can't have Marco be the only one that beats you up if you lose it." She smirked.

"Awesome!" Tom triumphantly balled his hand into a fist. "I'll see both of you in a few weeks then! If not a little sooner for our sparring match, Marco."

"I can't wait for it." Marco smiled.

A loud crash echoed throughout the chamber where the three of them stood.

"Moon!" River bellowed from somewhere down one of the halls. "Have you seen my loincloth!? It seems I've misplaced it, and if I don't find it soon I'll have to cut my losses and just go like this!"

"Let's get out of here. Now." Star said, horrified at the thought of whatever 'this' was.

"Right behind you!" Tom and Marco agreed.

The trio ran out the door, but Marco decided to take a peek behind them, curiosity unfortunately getting the better of him. As they rounded the corner into the next hallway he ran face first into a woman, knocking them both to the ground.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I should have watched where I was going! Are you okay?" Marco asked as he scrambled to pick himself off the floor and help the woman back on to her feet.

"Yes, I'm quite alright." The woman remarked, taking Marco's outstretched hand and hoisting herself off the floor. She looked him over with piercing blue eyes, as she rose. After a few moments, she brushed herself off, tucked her bright blonde hair behind her ear, and began walking away. "Sir." She stopped and turned her head back slightly towards Marco, who gave her his attention. "An active mind leads to a broken heart." She turned around and walked out of sight.

What?

"Who was that? What's that even supposed to mean?" Marco quietly questioned to himself.

"MARCO!" Star yelled from down the hallway. "Are you coming or not?"

"Yeah!" He answered back, still looking in the direction of where the woman went. Whoever she was, she was kind of creepy. And if he was being completely honest with himself, sort of his type. "Just got into a little accident is all!"


	2. 2: Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting

**I hope you all enjoy the second chapter!**

**Disclaimer: If it wasn't apparent enough, I don't own Star vs The Forces of Evil.**

**-G**

* * *

Chapter 2

**Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting**

"Oh God…" Tom cringed, horrified by the thought of such actions. "I thought you meant that Cest was a place. They actually do that where you're from?"

"Yeah, but it's more well known as a southeast thing. And the worst part is when-" Marco suddenly stopped and turned around to face the empty hallway behind the three of them. "Did you guys hear that?"

"Yeah." Star agreed, ears perked.

The trio faced down the hall as the clacking of what seemed to be metallic footsteps got louder. A young girl about fifteen years old, dressed up in blue squire rags trimmed in white with metal plating clacking underneath, came skidding to a stop in front of Marco. She hunched over with her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath before she snapped upright into a salute.

"Sir Marco!" She exclaimed, her disheveled light blonde hair covering icy blue eyes which peered from underneath. She quickly moved the hair out of her line of sight. "The squad is ready for today's training and are at attention, waiting on your command!"

Marco looked down at his watch and sighed. "You guys are always so early for training. Honestly I would rather you all be on time than almost an hour early. Give me about 15 minutes to get ready and I'll be out on the field. Dismissed."

"Yes Sir!" She swung her arm down and quickly scampered back down the hall she came from, footsteps becoming muffled in the distance.

"Well." Marco started off with a sigh and a hint of a smile. "I thought I would be able to spend a little more time with you guys, but duty calls."

"No problem Marco." Star smiled. "I actually have to go to some boring meeting with my mom and the generals in a little bit anyhow. Something about 'learning the ropes' or whatever. I know how to take command of a military." She grumbled. "It wouldn't be the first time I've done it, but she keeps saying that the more I practice, the more capable I'll be when I take over as queen. Not that I disagree with her, but I'd like some more time where I didn't have to be acting queen before actually becoming queen, you know?" She huffed and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Yikes. I think I may go with Marco then." Tom pointed his thumb towards Marco, wanting no part of any militia meetings. "I'm not due back at the castle for another few hours anyway, and I really don't feel like going back before I'm expected. Grandpa Relicor invited his friends over for Drabble and you do _not_ want to be there when they play. I almost died last time after he flung the board game like a frisbee at me. I may just watch your training, if that's okay with you, Marco. I don't want to intrude on anything that you might have to do without others around."

"I'm not going to _beat_ them if that's what you're implying." Tom held up his hands defensively in response as Marco continued. "But yeah, that's no problem. You could give them some pointers on how to better their fighting against more supernatural enemies. You know, turn them into regular Winchesters."

"I have no idea what you're talking about. But I can do the pointers thing."

Marco smiled and put his arm around Tom's shoulder. "We have a lot to discuss."

"_Greaaat_."

"Alright." Star cut in. "You two have fun and I'll catch up with you both, hopefully sooner rather than later." She waved goodbye to the two of them and continued down the hallway, her hair waving like a metronome as she walked.

Marco smiled as he watched her stride down the hall. "Well, let's get a move on." He reluctantly said. "I told them 15 minutes, and I'll be damned if I make a liar out of myself."

"Sounds good, dude." Tom replied as they began walking back down the hallway. "I know it'll come back up soon enough, so I'm just going to get it over with now. What's with the Winchester thing?"

"You said you only had a few hours here right?" Tom nodded. "Well, that won't be nearly enough time. We'll have to have a guy's night and I'll tell you all about it."

"Oh great…" Tom droned as Marco chuckled at his friend.

/..- .-. ... - .- -. -.. .. -. -. / -.- -. .. -. ... -/

"I'll tell you what. In all my years refereeing this game, I can say with complete and utter confidence that the both of you are, without a doubt, the most _boring_ players I've ever encountered. I mean _come. On_. At least throw some witty banter back and forth. I'd even settle for just talking or even grunts because there's nothing worse than watching two people silently stare at a board while you're made to watch." Glossaryck groaned with more than a slight annoyance in his tone. He summoned up a loaded hot dog, compete with sauerkraut, relish, onions, ketchup, and mustard while he patiently waited for the two players to react to his plea for communication.

"You know," the small creature spoke, moving their bishop in front of the queen "just because we don't talk doesn't mean we aren't having any sort of banter. It's all non-verbal on the board. Not to mention there's too much at stake to be focused on a trivial matter such as banter. You said it yourself, this is a god's game. And being only mortals locked into this takes quite a toll. Not enough to give up on," it looked up to the shadow, "but severe nonetheless."

"He's right" the large shadow agreed. "This dimension drains the life-force from anyone in here. As one of the seven, you must not be familiar with such an experience and how we are more prone to its… Unfortunate effects."

"Obviously." Glossaryck answered, taking a bite of his hot dog. "However, I've seen plenty of creatures come and go from here. More than I'd care to admit. They each want to change the past and were willing to do anything to achieve that. But each one of them left in such bad shape that even I had the urge to change what they did. I pitied them, and the short time that they had left. They all gambled everything in their disposal to get here, and left with nothing. Even after winning. Why do you think that I pushed so heavily against the beginning of this match? But _nooo_. Nobody _ever_ listens to Glossaryck. I'm only one of the fabled seven! What do I know?" He threw his one arm in the air, finishing the hot dog with the other. He pulled out a book from his robe and began reading. "I hope you two have an exit strategy. You're going to need one."

/.- . - ... . .-. / -.-. ... .- - .../

"Alright squires!" Marco called out as he and Tom entered the training grounds. Marco was fully decked out in sleek red training armor finished with black trim and his helmet latched onto the back of his belt. The armor was covered in various symbols and dotted different hues of color in various positions around the suit. His sheathed sword swayed and clanked on his back while he walked.

"Today I have a special plan before we begin with your routine training. As you all know, we're starting strategies against creatures that control natural elements. Your typical air, water, fire, ground deal. That encompasses anything from mages and warlocks to dragons and demons. Now you may be wondering 'Sir Marco, what's this special plan you have?' Well, I'm going to personally show you how to defend yourself against a high-level demon attack with the help of my friend here, Prince Tom." Marco gestured to Tom who raised an open hand at the group of squires.

"Now, I want you all to watch how I move against Tom's attacks and how I go to attack him. Make sure to watch all of me. Not just where I move or when I swing my sword, but how I swing my sword, my reaction to his attacks, my foot movements during the sparring match, and the few special surprises that I have in store which could be lifesaving. That being said, you might want to backup a little. This could get out of hand very fast. But don't worry, we're professionals." Marco put his helmet on and drew El Choppo out of its sheath on his back, giving it a spin and grasping the hilt with both hands. He bent down a bit and raised his sword towards Tom.

"You know, I didn't think that our sparring match would happen so soon, let alone have it be the center of attention for one of your teaching lessons. What'll happen when all of those squires see you on the ground with a mouth full of dirt in the next ten seconds?" Tom toyed at Marco, while he placed his suit jacket on a nearby fence post with his tie on top.

"I'll just have to explain to them what I did wrong and how they should go about learning from my mistakes. But first thing's first, you'll have to land a hit on me." Marco smirked.

"Oh, this'll be fun."

Tom straightened his arms down to his sides and slightly curled his fingers in and out. He ignited two large balls of fire in each palm and launched them at Marco who stood at the ready.

Marco jumped backwards to avoid the first fireball, which scorched the ground where he just standing. He tightened his grip and turned El Choppo sideways, batting the second fireball away where it landed a few feet away from him. Marco held his sword beside him and charged Tom, taking a powerful upward swipe at him.

Tom jumped backwards, dodging the attack, and ignited two small fire daggers from the bottom of his fists and began a slew of attacks on Marco. Marco consistently deflected the dagger attacks with grace, each hit producing sparks between the fire and metal on contact. Following the short onslaught, Tom jumped back to give himself some room and catch his breath.

"You've gotten pretty good at this whole swordsman thing, huh?" Tom spoke. "So, I guess I'll just have to up my game."

Tom's arms began to glow a dark blue hue. Marco could feel the tension rising as the demon stared him down, arms out, daring him to make the next move. He readied his stance, pulling the sword up in front of him, expecting a long-range attack. But instead all he got was just more of the same. Tom wasn't going to make the first move.

Marco figured the only way to find out what he was up to was to meet him head on and drag it out of him. He adjusted the grip on his blade and began a full sprint towards Tom. Drawing his blade back, Marco lashed out a side swipe only a few feet from Tom. There was a flash of white light and suddenly Marco's attack stopped cold. He couldn't push forward anymore.

_What?_ He thought.

Marco become increasingly overwhelmed with distraught. Did he actually cut into Tom? Did he in the heat of the moment take their fight too far and cut straight into his torso? No, he couldn't have. The sword would have sliced straight through him if that was the case. When the blinding light let up, Tom was holding up his arm which was now fully covered in thick blue flames, and El Choppo was trapped in his grip, quickly turning red. Marco quickly pulled back, looking at his little glowing friend and the smiling demon in the background. His sword would have melted if it stayed there any longer.

Tom slowly ignited his other arm to where it was covered in the same menacing blue fire that the first was coated in. He began walking towards Marco who was still mentally recovering from almost losing his most valuable piece of gear. Tom took a downward swing at Marco who was able to narrowly escape having only light claw marks on the shoulder of his armor.

Marco returned the blade to its casing on his back, which let out a hiss as steam rose from around the hilt. He reached towards a blade outline on his outer right thigh and a blue dot on the top of his right forearm. He manifested two blue daggers out of the outline. By holding one in each hand, he prepared to defend an onslaught. An onslaught that he couldn't have ever prepared for.

Tom slashed up at Marco, who quickly pulled back, feeling the heat from the demon's burning arms. Marco then lunged forward, dagger aimed at Tom's abdomen. Tom jumped back and kicked the dagger from Marco's hand high into the air and began a fury of attacks trying to hit Marco in the chest, arm, head and neck. Tom gritted his teeth in frustration from the consistent misses, but finally managed to land a punch directly below Marco's sternum, sending him skidding back a few yards.

Marco threw one arm over the point of impact and used the other to grasp the ground, knocking up dust from the ground below before he tumbled over. A loud "Ooo…" swept over from the squires backing away from the fighting ground as Marco tried to steady his breathing. He pushed himself upward, swaying only slightly. He looked up at the sky and held out his weaponless hand, as the dagger that was knocked earlier dropped safely into his hand.

"Call me impressed, Marco." Tom called from across the field, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "The last guy that took that punch from me was coughing up blood for a month. He _was_ pretty weak compared to you, so I figured you could take it with that fancy armor. Speaking of, I didn't know Star was that good with enchantments and reinforcement. Cause that definitely should have broke or burned if it was only metal. I should ask her to reinforce my armor."

"Heh. I've been here for a while now, and I've made some pretty good friends. Well, kind of. Anyway, it wasn't Star that made it." He paused to catch some more of his slowly recuperating breath. "It was the upcoming head mage. She's really good at this kind of enchantment. Not to mention all kinds of psychological and black magic too. She practices on me a lot and felt bad one day for some reason. Can't remember why exactly. So, she made me this. And it was the best thing a knight could have asked for."

"Well whoever she is, I'm totally asking her if she could do the same thing for me. Just, with more style than yours." Tom gestured to Marco's armor.

Marco looked down at his armor and frowned. "I'm unappreciated in my time."

Tom smirked and launched a stream of blue fire towards Marco who hastily rolled out of its path, landing on his back. The fire struck the warnicorn stables behind the field, blowing a hole in the side of it and letting loose a stampede of frightened, neighing warnicorns.

"Round them up!" Marco yelled to the squires as he propped himself on his elbow. They looked towards the stables and promptly returned their gaze to the fight and pointed behind Marco.

Tom stood above him, his heel careening down towards Marco's chest. Marco caught the bottom of his foot right before impact in an attempt to prevent being stomped on. Tom's foot began to glow orange and Marco flung it to the side as fire jettisoned from the sole of his boot.

Tom tumbled to the ground and looked up to see Marco lunging at him, dagger in hand. He rolled out of the way and sprung back onto his feet to see Marco with his arm raised, dagger in hand. Tom extended his arms and caught Marco's arm as the dagger dropped close to his head. Tom twisted Marco's arm and kicked him in the abdomen, sending him skidding back a few feet.

Tom winced and looked down at his arms. A shallow cut began dripping blood from where the blade must have drug across his arm. He looked over at Marco who was standing back up, head held high. Tom furrowed his brow and began concentrating on his arms. He gritted his teeth and did his best to hold back the screams of pain which were becoming too overwhelming to bear.

"Dude. You need a quick bathroom break, or…?" Marco asked hesitantly.

"I haven't been cut in years." Tom spoke quietly through the slowly dulling pain which radiated throughout his body. "I guess I should give you more credit."

Tom grunted in pain as his whole body became covered in flickering light blue flames. The fire stuck closely to his skin and was dense enough that the only thing able to be seen was his outline. His blue hue head turned to look towards Marco, who was staring at him in disbelief. Tom grinned as the flames covering him dissipated, and he began sprinting towards Marco at a speed almost imperceptible to the naked eye. He appeared directly in front of Marco, who was taken completely by surprise. He only had time to cross his arms in a dire attempt to protect his face from Tom.

Tom let loose a powerful punch, striking Marco in the abdomen. A loud thud reverberated throughout the area. Before Marco could react, Tom pulled him by the arm and threw another strike directly at his cheek. Marco was propelled sideways, spinning and tumbling on the ground until he came directly into contact with the large shed which served as a weapons cache, breaking through the side and into the building.

Marco sat there on the ground trying to figure out what just happened as spears and swords dropped down onto him and clattered against the ground. He is supposed to be one of the best fighters in Mewni, and he was just tossed around like a rag doll in a dryer. Pushing through the aches and pain, Marco concentrated and reached up towards where he was hit on the cheek as the armor atop began restructuring itself to its original, pristine form. He pushed himself onto his knee and began tapping the other armored areas which were misshapen due the barrage of punches he just received. Just as the helmet had done, the other damaged areas began reforming to his body.

He forced himself to stand upright and touched a cross on his back near his right kidney. He began glowing green as the armor let off steam from all over the previously damaged areas. Marco rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck as he walked out of the cache. He reached down to his thigh and over to his arm again, touching a light blue dot and pulling out another set of daggers. He spun them between his fingers as he walked into the open, with an array of shocked faces to greet him.

A set of whispers from the group of squires could be heard. Plenty of disbelief, some in shock, others calling the whole fight a well-planned sham since Marco looked as though he just walked out in a Lavabo approved suit of armor.

Tom stood there, arms crossed, with an impressed grin on his face. Marco knew that Tom could toy with him as much as he wanted to. He had the raw strength to do it. So logically, the only way he would be able to beat him would be to get into his head and pry at his emotions. Marco gripped his daggers and smiled.

"You know," Marco started "you're a pretty good fighter, Tom. You're able to keep calm, cool, and collected in the heat of battle, which I know was a pretty big problem for you before. Especially when facing someone like me."

Tom cocked his head. "Like you? You mean like you being my rival, or my friend?"

"Exactly." Marco continued "I think that you and I have come far from the first time we met. We may have been at each other's throats back then, but now I'd like to think of us as friends. More like best friends, actually. You know, I was really surprised when we were younger and you didn't try to kill me after I kissed Star. I thought I was a dead man walking, but you proved me wrong and let it go. Not for terribly long, though." Marco closed his eyes and shrugged. "The whole thing kind of took a back seat for a while there and we moved on. And that wasn't the only time either. But I'm just surprised you let me off the hook so easily the second time. I mean, it wasn't that long ago that we stayed on Kahakai."

"You both told me nothing happened." Tom spoke sternly. "What're you trying to tell me, Marco?" His voice becoming louder with each sentence.

"Well… I guess since you asked so nicely, the way Star and I worked together on so many adventures, the way we were always so in sync. It was like experiencing her magic for the first time over and over again. Everything about it was just so-" Marco took a prolonged, deep breath and smiled deviously. "Intense."

Tom's eyes flashed an intense, deep red. The wind began to howl and the ground beneath them began to shake more intensely with each passing second. The squires huddled together and moved backwards as large pillars of fire ten feet in diameter erupted around Tom, surrounding him in an impenetrable shield. The wind was almost as unbearable as the extreme heat emanating from the developing inferno. Marco hunched down and grabbed at the ground, trying to steady himself against the ground as he kept watch on the plume in front of him. The gusting winds began to blow in all directions, rocking Marco off balance. Just as he thought he wouldn't be able to hold on much longer, the columns abruptly disappeared, and a new demon was standing in Tom's place. A large eight-foot creature with four blood red eyes, six arms, spiral horns, and a look of murderous intent stood looming over the battlefield.

"Woah. I signed up to fight Tom. Not The Mountain meets Hellboy." Marco let out a nervous chuckle as he started backing up.

The demon spoke in a two pitch tone of Tom with a demonic underlay. "Oh, you want to make jokes now? I guess the joke's on me, really. Thinking that you two would actually be telling me the truth, and not _stabbing_ me in the back like petty high schoolers!" His voice rose intensely as he strode towards Marco who was still nervously backing up. The ground shook with each step Tom took. "That'll be the last time I make that mistake." He sneered, disgust dripping off every word.

In the blink of an eye Tom was in front of Marco. Barely able to gasp, Marco was sent flying into the air by an uppercut to the abdomen. Tom crouched down and leaped into the sky, leaving a small crater in his wake. He quickly approached Marco's curled body with a ball of intense fire which circulated in his palm like an atom. Tom brought his hand out in front of him and let loose a monstrous vortex of fire, which fully engulfed Marco's half-conscious body. Tom smirked at the wake of smoke before him and began his descent to the battle ground when he was hit with what felt like the force of the entire magic high commission to the vertex of his skull.

Tom was sent plummeting into the ground like a meteor, causing a massive quake on impact. The shockwave created caused all loose objects around the battlefield to fly away from the point of impact. All the equipment sheds in the surrounding area were toppled and the young fighters watching the heated battle were thrown off their feet tumbling backwards. Some were thrown against walls and some into crevices spidering out from the impact, while others who were able to barely stand their ground became completely encompassed in dust and small debris.

Marco dropped next to Tom's crash site, purple veins popping out of his neck, and frowning unhappily at the display of power which caused the terrestrial implosion. He moved in closer to where Tom was sent, and while brooding over the point of impact, his demeanor began changing to horror. His eyes widened, and he gasped as he quickly jumped in the hole in front of him.

"Tom!" Marco yelled as he landed in the dark, debris filled pit. "Can you hear me?! Where are you?! Tom!"

Marco heard a small groan not too far away and began running towards it. He found Tom laying on his back, unconscious and covered in rubble. He looked at the limp prince in front of him who had reverted to his normal self, though he was covered in gashes and bruises. Marco hastily pushed the debris off Tom. He saw a long, but not too deep, opening in Tom's abdomen and knew he needed immediate medical attention. Marco touched one of the crosses on his armor with one hand, and Tom with the other. The gash began to close slightly, but not enough to properly heal even if he were to be wearing the armor. But there was no time for that anyway. Tom would be much better off in the medical ward. So Marco picked him up bridal style and began making his way out of the deep hole they were trapped in.

"Sir Marco! Are you down there?" Came the voice of the youthful squire who ran into them earlier, Kassandra.

"Yeah!" Marco yelled up, placing Tom against the crater's edge separating them. "Drop a rope down and get some help to hoist us up!"

Less than a minute later, a thick piece of rope was dropped down landing directly on top of Marco. He rubbed his head groaning in annoyance and tied the strand of rope around the underside of his thighs and glutes. He once again picked up Tom, making sure not to move him around too much and cause extra damage. Giving the rope a quick double pull, Marco began to ascend to the top of the crater.

He looked over at Tom and frowned. He never should've taunted him like that. Especially when he made up that part of the story just to get him off focus for a simple sparring match between friends. What kind of friend does that to another anyway? It wasn't fair to Tom, and now he's the one unconscious and covered in bruises and gashes. Marco had to make it up to him, and the first step in doing that was to get out of this hole and over to the medical ward so he can be properly treated.

They reached the top and Marco set Tom down as he climbed out of the hole. "Stay here and try to clean this place up a bit. I'll be back." He commanded the squires, who all gave a unison head nod. Getting on his feet again, Marco once again picked up Tom and began his walk across the field to get him to a healer.

"So who wants to start on the hole?" One squire asked.

"Not it!" The others yelled as they ran off leaving him alone.

"You guys are the worst!"

/... - .- -. -.. .. -. -. / -.- -. .. -. ... -/

Star watched for a moment as Tom and Marco walked away towards the training grounds. She smiled and spun around on her heel, beginning her casual walk towards the war room. She looked up at the walls as she made her way down the hall. All the old portraits of knights, mages, and other important figures throughout the history of the castle made sure there was no free space. It was something she was always acutely aware of, but never took the time to really appreciate. They all had their names and titles on small plaques below their portraits.

Star stopped at one next to the exit of the magic wing and looked up at a painting of Mage Maren. Her shining silver hair, forest green eyes, complemented her regal like pose in her lengthy morning-sun red robe. She held a jet black staff with a glowing light blue orb perched atop it which swirled with white and pink specks. She looked like a beautiful Earthen sunrise.

"Mage Maren, forger of Celacia's Sword. Head mage 503-524." Star spoke quietly to herself as she looked at the small plaque beneath the painting. "I'll put together what was lost of yours and find the right person to carry on its legacy. That's a princess promise." She smiled, turned, and began walking down the hall only to be struck in the face by a door being swung open. "Dammit!" Star yelled as she tightened her eyes and pressed both hands against her nose.

"Oh shit I-" The person began. "Star? Well I guess I'm lucky it wasn't your mom, but, are you alright?"

Star forcefully pried one eye open and saw a blurry woman with shoulder length black hair. She was wearing a long orange robe trimmed in black with a symbol on the left sleeve. Star continued looking up at the person and rubbed her eyes as they began to focus. The girl was smiling and crossing her arms almost amused with what had just occurred.

"You're not even going to apologize?" Star questioned to the person standing before her.

"Well when you get all huffy with me like that, hell no." She paused. "Then again, I guess I should, or otherwise I may lose my position here. And I dig what I do." The woman said coolly.

"Janna?" Star asked.

"In the nose breaking flesh." She exaggerated a bow to Star. "Sorry about that though. I was just headed to find Marco. I had a few questions about the prototype I gave him and I didn't want to continue with the main version until I know if there's anything wrong with it. It's been a few weeks, so he should have at least something for me to go off of. But if it's straight complaining he'd better get used to the idea of never having kids."

Star smiled knowing full well she was bluffing. Probably. "He went off with Tom to the training grounds. The squires were ready early for practice so they drug him off and Tom followed. They'll probably have some sort of sparring match and make the rookies take notes. I just hope it doesn't get out of hand like it did the last time they had a match. Old man Hirsch wasn't too happy about a barn with an extra-large side door." They both laughed in reminiscence of the trouble Tom and Marco got in for unnecessary violence. Having to hand repair the barn and wait on Hirsch hand and foot with all his strange requests, like a bridal gown sized for a raccoon, was more than a proper punishment for the two.

"Oh, I did want to ask you something before you go hunt him down." Star began. "Have you ever heard of the tail of Mage Maren and Lady Celacia?"

"The one with the super powerful sword that could basically do anything except bring back the dead? Which was never actually proven from what I remember hearing about it... But yeah, I remember that. It sounded badass. Something as powerful as that can only be a fantasy though. There's no feasible way to incorporate such a limitless supply of power into a finite container. Especially when that finite source would be a diamond probably no more than six inches in diameter." Janna opened her finger and thumb for reference.

"It's actually only about two inches tall." Star responded, opening her fingers to show the gem's actual size.

"What?" Janna paused and raised an eyebrow. "You're saying that it's real? And that you've seen it too?" Janna asked accusatively. "Don't lie to me, Star. You don't want to end up like Ned."

"Who's Ned?"

"Don't ask."

"I'm serious Janna. It's real. At least it was guarded like it was. I haven't actually had any time to test it and see if it's the real deal yet. That's actually where I was hoping you would come in. That is, if you don't mind. I don't really trust any other mage to look at it without trying to run off and tell my mom, or stowing it away and keep it for themselves if it turns out to be real."

"What makes you think I won't keep it?"

"Janna."

"Yeah, okay. I'll take a look at it for ya." Janna said somewhat dismissively. "But if this really is it, what're we even going to do with it? It's not like we have the other parts to the sword and can put it back together again. And if we show that we have the thing, that'll paint a pretty huge target on our backs. Who wouldn't want a source of unlimited power at their disposal? Being able to call typhoons with a simple hand wave, earthquakes with the snap of a finger, volcanic eruptions with a foot tap. Oh man, I think I might keep this thing for myself after all." She said with a sly grin. After a moment both girls broke out laughing, leaning on each other for support.

Star tried taking deep breaths to try and calm herself, but still couldn't suppress every giggle. "Okay, okay. So when do you have the place to yourself so I can bring it down to you?"

"Tomorrow night is my shift to watch over the wing. Tends to be pretty quiet here most of the time unless Shayman has some weird-ass spell or conduit he's working on. But he's been pretty quiet lately, so I'm guessing it'll stay the same for tomorrow too." Janna said, waiving it off.

"Great! I have the thing in my room, so I'll bring it down for you later. Say around 11?" Star asked.

"Yeah. The late workers are usually out by ten. And if not, I'll just kick them out with some Oscar award winning concern. '_You should make time to see your family_' or '_Rest is very important, you need to get enough_.' You know, something that shows that I'm a very caring and loving person, or whatever." Janna shrugged.

"You know, Janna, you may act like that on the outside, but I know that you're just a big softie." Star smiled while poking her in the stomach.

"Psh. I couldn't care less about what they do. As long as it doesn't interfere with me, they could run straight into the Forest of Certain Death as far as I'm concerned." She crossed her arms and frowned at Star.

"Sure, whatever you say." Star said letting out a small laugh. Despite her best efforts, Janna let a small smile past her lips and turned back towards her friend.

"I- did want to tell you one more thing though," Janna spoke a little hesitantly. She wasn't one to be so cautious with what she said, so Star gave her a small nod and edged her on. "Shayman actually-"

Before Janna could finish, a large crash reverberated through the halls, shaking the ground Star and her were both standing on. They both tried to grab on to each other attempting to keep themselves balanced, but were unable to stay upright for very long and eventually tumbled to the ground. As soon as it started, the ordeal was over. Star and Janna both laid motionless on their stomachs waiting for something else to happen, but to no avail.

Janna began to push herself off Star and into a sitting position to look around the hallways. Most of the portraits were on the ground, some with cracked frames and others which were somehow intact. Tables were sideways on the ground with shattered vases and crystal beside them, but they heard no cries of help. Which was either a good or grave sign.

Star pushed herself to her feet and began taking in the scene as well. "I think that was from the the training grounds." Barely a moment passed before she came to a stark realization. "Marco! Tom!" She yelled as she took off in the direction leading outside.

"Star! Wait up!" Janna yelled as she pushed herself to her feet and began chasing her down.

Star sprinted around the corner to the outside battleground, her wand hissing in preparation to unleash hell's fury. As she broke into the outside light with Janna closely in tow, she came screeching to a halt at the massive crater that was encompassing the entire field.

Star looked around, trying to find what the cause of such destruction could possibly be. She saw that not only was there a gaping hole where the squires and knights sparred, but there was reminance of destruction all over the grounds. Buildings had been ripped from where they once stood and ones which still stood had gaping holes from other objects being propelled into them. There were massive fissures all along the ground which were dispersed in every direction with earth sparcely crumbling inward.

Star looked around and saw a lone group of squires backed away from the immediate area, all sitting the ground. The two friends ran over to where the squires were huddled together, frantically whispering to one another with dread painted all over their faces.

"Hey!" Star shouted, a little louder than she intended to. The squires stopped their chattering and looked at her. "Are you all okay? What happened here? Was there some sort of attack on the castle?" Star shot questions to the scared squires who looked like goldfish with their mouths hanging open trying to find an answer for her. Almost all of them had the utmost difficulty trying to comprehend what had just occurred. "None of you know what happened?" Star asked once again, becoming increasingly short in tone.

One squire began moving. She was a relatively tall girl with short blonde hair. She pushed herself up on the shoulder of another squire sitting in front of her and stood up straight, looking Star dead in the eyes. Star recognized her as the same squire who confronted Marco earlier about the rest of the squires being ready for training, which certainly did not look like the case anymore.

"What's your name?" Star asked the young girl.

"Kassandra, princess." The girl answered with a small bow.

"Okay, Kassandra. What happened here that made you all look like you've stared death in the face?" Star demanded.

"It- It was Sir Marco and Prince Tom, princess. Sir Marco was going to show us how to fight off a top tier demon with the help of Prince Tom- and it was really interesting how they fought. But…" She trailed off trying to find the words on what happened afterwards.

"Okay, I want you to take your time, but I need to know what happened between them that caused this. This level of chaos should be beyond them both." Star spoke sternly, trying not to frighten her more than she already seemed to be.

Kassandra took a deep breath before continuing. "It was going great at first. I thought I was learning a lot by how Sir Marco fought Prince Tom. And then it began to escalate. Sir Marco started throwing what I assumed to be friendly verbal jabs at Prince Tom, but the prince got very upset with him. He eventually transformed into this giant beast-demon and kicked Sir Marco into the air. He engulfed him in fire from his hand, and I thought he may have actually killed Sir Marco, but he came out of the cloud of smoke and flip kicked Prince Tom on the head which sent him hurdling into the ground- making the giant crater you can see over there." A small frown escaped the squire's lips as she pointed over to the crater.

"Was there anything else that happened? Any detail at all? There's nothing too small to remember." Star pushed.

"Well, there was the giant fire pillars that engulfed Prince Tom when he transformed." Kassandra answered.

"No." Star said while thinking. She knew that was his normal battle evolution. He must have just kicked it up another notch. "Anything else? Or something about Marco?"

"There was this one weird thing that I saw." Star raised an eyebrow as Kassandra continued. "When he landed his veins were popping out pretty far. They looked dark blue or purple. I don't know. He was really far away and I don't know if that's weird for a human."

"If he was angry, that was probably normal. Human veins are blue and pop out with anger." Star answered. "I'll try and see what I can find out. Thank you so much Kassandra. Now one more question. Where did they go?"

Kassandra pointed in the direction Marco carried Tom. "That way. Sir Marco took Prince Tom to the medical wing for treatment."

"Thank you." Star answered. "Janna, let's go."

"Right behind you, boss." Janna replied coolly as they both took off. "So, do you actually think that they could have done this? I mean Marco's not the most destructive person in the world. Far from it honestly. And I don't know enough about Tom to stick him with the blame."

"Tom can have a bit of a temper on him, but he's not physically strong enough to create a massive crater like that. Not to mention from what Kassandra told us, he should've burned Marco alive in the air. Humans can't take that kind of heat and live to tell the tale, even if he did have his armor on." Star said, still trying to wrap her head around the events which took place.

None of it made any sense. Marco should be crisper than her own first attempt at nachos. Not to mention the size of that crater was absurd. She herself can barely muster up enough strength in her Butterfly form to create such destruction. Neither of them should be able to attain that level of power. Not on their own at least.

"Well that suit of armor I made for him can withstand a fair amount of heat. It's not without limits, but I thought I did a damn good job and giving it a high heat resistance. Honestly, he should even be able to lava surf in that." Janna boasted as they both rounded the corner into the medical wing.

"That still doesn't explain how Marco could've hit Tom with so much force that he caused that level of destruction. Humans are a lot weaker than mewmans, and I don't know any mewman that could have done that. Not even me or my mom." Star and Janna both stopped in front of the desk at the medical wing. Star grabbed a hold of the countertop and looked the man behind the desk dead in the eye. "Where are Sir Marco and Prince Tom?" She questioned him as she leaned over the desk on her tip toes.

"Hold on princess." The man said as he began shuffling through his paperwork. He pulled out a black folder and placed it on top of some others. He opened it up and did a quick scan. "It says here that they're on the fourth floor, room twenty."

Janna snickered, electing a questioning look from Star. "I'm not explaining it to you right now." Janna said as she waved her off. "Let's just go up and see what happened to them."

Star reluctantly nodded and they both took off towards the stairs and up to the fourth floor. As they made their way past a variety of open doors, all with vibrantly individualistic touches, they stopped at the entrance to room twenty and looked in to see Marco with his back towards them. He was sitting on a chair with his head down facing an empty bed, with Tom nowhere in sight. Star knocked on the door as both her and Janna entered the room. "Hey Marco, how're you doing? Where's Tom at?"

Marco glanced over his shoulder and turned back around. He took a deep breath and let his shoulders slump as he continued to stare at the ground. "Tom needed surgery.. He had multiple broken bones, fractures, a multitude of torn muscles, tendons, and ligaments, and to top it off, a severe concussion which the doctors said they weren't sure he'd even wake up from. He's in real bad shape, Star. I didn't even know it was possible for him to be in that sort of severe condition either. It's all just so- heavy."

Star's optimistic demeanor faltered. She knew Tom could take a beating, considering that on multiple occasions she was the one doing the beating, but it was never anything close to that. To think that this could have been Marco was not something that she could accept. "Well what about you, Marco? Are you alright?"

He just sat there in silence for a while, unwavering, continuing to stare straight at the ground. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally moved, clasping his hands together and putting his forearms on his knees.

"I don't even remember doing it to him." Marco spoke almost mindlessly. "I was on the verge of blacking out when he sent me flying into the air. I saw him coming up to me with a fireball in hand and right before he shot it off, I blacked out. The next thing I knew, I was standing over a crater and I had this horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach that Tom was down there- and that I was the one who sent him there. Turns out that I did." Marco clamped his jaw, grabbed the hair on his temples, and let out a stifled scream. He slumped back down into his chair and began picking at the nails on his hand.

"Well," Star began "It's not like you could've done anything about it if you blacked out. Yeah, it's really weird that you could've done something like that without any conscious effort, but if that's the case, it wasn't you who was doing it. At least not on your own terms. It's not your fault, Marco." Star put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a soft smile.

Marco turned to look at her and puckered his lips. "It just feels like it is. Like I became someone entirely different and did that to him. I may not have been actively doing it, but it was still my body. It's still my responsibility to hold myself accountable for whatever actions my body commits." He spoke regretfully.

To Marco, nothing is worse than putting the life of one of your closest friends in danger, even if it wasn't by choice. But that didn't matter. All that mattered was that Tom was was in serious trouble and he was the one who put him there. Marco took in a deep breath and heaved a heavy sigh. He pushed up on the arms of his chair and turned around to face Star and Janna. "I just hope that it was a fluke. There's nothing wrong with me that would cause me to do something like that. At least, not as far as I'm aware of."

"Well there's a possibility that a malicious subconscious presence is propagating the loss of conscious control over your primary motor functionality, resulting in your destructive tendencies and inability to recall your own actions or motives." Janna put forth. Star and Marco looked at her, stupefied. "Or you're just an asshole." She shrugged.

Marco let out an audible groan as Janna stood there smirking at him.

A woman in a long white robe with shoulder length straight red hair and glasses appeared at the door to the room where the three were standing. She knocked on the doorframe as she entered the room, alerting them to her presence. "Are you Marco?" She asked in a get-to-it tone.

"Yes, I am." Marco said, quickly approaching her.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Fyrefly." She extended her arm out and shook Marco's hand. "I was the one heading Prince Tom's surgery, and I'd like to inform you that everything went according to plan. He was a textbook patient and cooperated very well during the procedure. I would like to note however, that he did sustain serious injuries, and even though he is an extraordinarily powerful demon, it will most likely take him a few days recovery. Very impressive from a normal being's perspective, although fairly long from his. He should have been in better condition than he was when your brought him here, but we'll save that inquiry for the time being. I would suggest keeping him stationary as much as possible while he heals. He may feel well enough to get up and move, but that will only hinder his recovery. Make sure he has plenty of water and nutrient rich foods after he leaves, and I'm sure a soul or two wouldn't hurt either. But they'll reiterate that on dispatch with paperwork. Other than that, he should be good to go in a few days. Nothing too strenuous initially, just to be safe, but he should be back to normal. He will be in recovery room 115 when you are ready to see him. If there's anything else I can do for you young knight, please don't hesitate to ask."

"I won't." Marco replied. "Thank you for all of your help, doctor."

"It's my pleasure. Take care of yourselves." She nodded and headed out the door.

"I can't believe he got _that_ hurt." Star muttered. "But I'm just glad he'll be okay."

"Me too." Marco replied, scratching his right arm.

"Well if you're done feeling sorry for him," Janna said to Star "and you're done feeling sorry for yourself," she directed to Marco, "I think that we should actually go see how he's doing. Plus, it'd be a nice change of pace to see a demon downed instead of doing the downing."

"Do you have a thing against demons?" Marco asked her.

"No." Janna shrugged. "But the last time I saw him, he was acting like king of the world, and it'd be nice to knock him down a few pegs. Strip some of that dignity away, ya know?"

"There's something seriously wrong with you." Marco said as he gave her a half disgusted, half amused look. He'd never admit it, but it was nice actually talking to Janna again, instead of just doing business. At least she didn't steal his stuff anymore. Or she just got that good at it that he didn't even realize she'd done anything. Regardless, it was nice to have another human to talk to. The third best person in the castle that he could think of.

"Alright!" Star chirped, throwing her arm over Marco. "Let's go see how the poor guy's doing. And maybe rub his face in the fact that a human beat him." She winked at Marco, who smirked back. She wrapped her other arm around Janna and the three of them walked out the door, headed for room 115.

**Thanks to Starco4everr for the review and for everyone who gave this a read!**


	3. Highway to Hell

**Apologies for the delay, but I hope you all enjoy the next chapter!**

**I do not own Star vs the Forces of Evil**

**-G**

* * *

Chapter 3

**Highway to Hell**

Star tapped on the door to room 115 as her, Marco, and Janna gazed in at the lying figure on the bed. The sleeping face of Tom was slightly turned from them as his chest rose and fell beneath the covers. Marco looked over at Tom's near still body and noticed that he no longer had any visible cuts or bruises.

"It's amazing to think just how powerful he is. I kicked him into the ground with enough force that they should've felt the Underworld shake. But yet, here he is, looking like he's just taking a nap in the hospital, and hadn't had surgery." Marco commented in disbelief. He stuffed his hands into his hoodie pocket and continued his dumbfounded expression towards Tom.

"Well now that we know he's okay, I think we should just let him rest up for a little while. No need for us to be a bunch of creeps and watch him sleep." Star turned as she finished and began walking towards the door with Marco quickly following suit. But Janna continued to look over the resting demon.

"Janna." Marco called out to her from the room entrance. "You coming?"

"Huh?" She turned around to look at him then glanced back at Tom. "Yeah. I'm coming." Before she walked out the door she took one more look at Tom. For some reason she couldn't quite let go of the fact that one of the most powerful people she knew was bedridden. And by one of her least powerful friends. Yeah, that was it. She shook the thought loose and caught up to Star and Marco as they headed through the corridor and out of the medical wing.

"So, Marco, I told Janna about the gemstone and she wants to see it." Star looked over to Janna. "What was it you wanted to do with it again?"

"Trace it." Janna replied. "Like I said before, something that powerful has to leave an energy signature wherever it goes, even if it's there for only a moment. I want to look into the whole story about the sword more, but if there could be one source of energy this powerful, maybe there could be more. It could be possible that the stone you two found could have broken off from a parent chunk and we only have a portion of what's out there. There are a few possibilities, but first things first. I need more information. Books, scrolls, stories and even knowledge passed down in other dimensions. Who knows how old this thing is or where it originated from. I need to put as much effort into this as Marco does into doing his hair."

"My hair is very uncooperative and requires extensive care." Marco defended, bushing his bangs out of the way.

"Whatever." Janna brushes him off. "I never said it looked bad. Just that you'd be better off bald." She ruffled his hair, to which Marco swatted her hand away. "So, Star, you think you could grab that for me before your meeting with your mom?"

Star's eyes grew wide and she gasped before grabbing Janna. "The meeting! Oh no I completely forgot about it! I'm going to be late! Marco! Get the stone for Janna so she can do her tracing thing. I'll meet up with you two later. Hopefully not too much later..." She grumbled, knowing full well that any meeting which included the Mewman Armed Forces would drag on for an eternity. She took off down the hall and waved goodbye to her friends as she sped out of sight.

"She won't be back for hours." Marco deadpanned.

"Nope. Now let's get moving and get that stone. The less time I have to spend with a whiny sidekick, the better."

"Hey!" Marco protested.

"My point."

They entered Star's room and Marco went over to the small box where Star left the stone before they were forcefully drug out. He opened it up and started digging through its contents, moving away cards, some bits of jewelry, a plastic rectangle, and some movie ticket stubs until he found it. He put the stone in his pocket and left Star's room, heading towards the magic wing with Janna.

"So, I have some critiques on the suit for when you finalize it." Marco started.

"What are they? And I swear to god, if you say the color again I will kick your ass so hard you'll be tasting boot for a month."

"Well, that's not the only thing I had in mind..." Marco said hesitantly.

Janna scowled and balled her fists.

"Ahem. Right. Well, is there any way to make the suit automatically reassemble itself after spontaneous disassembly? Or detect when I'm hurt and fix me accordingly? The fact that it does it at all is great, but if I'm in a fight and have to stop to start and sustain the process, I may end up dead."

Janna puckered her lips, contemplating the various options for improvement she had at her disposal. "I think I have some primal spells which could detect material malformation from a predetermined design. The automatic healing process will probably be difficult to get down because most detection spells I have are standardized in regard to their threshold of initiation."

Marco blinked dumbfounded before Janna rolled her eyes and continued.

"That basically means if you or a baby got hit with the same amount of force, the baby could end up with internal bleeding and possibly die while you'd be able to just rub it off. And the detection spell wouldn't act on the baby because it wasn't enough force to injure a normal person, because you'd be just fine. But I guess I could dig some more to try and find a spell specific to your threshold of injury. And then we'd have to figure out what that threshold is." Janna gave Marco a devious smile that sent shivers down his spine. "Bend over."

"Nope! _That's_ never gonna happen!" He clenched up and covered up behind him.

Janna laughed at the sight of him turning as red as a cherry tomato. "Relax, Diaz. You're too easy to get a rile out of. But seriously, I should run some tests to see where your threshold is before I finish up."

"I don't want to be a lab rat..." He droned. "Oh! One more thing that I did think of before I forget. A camouflage function. Not like the invisible to the naked eye kind necessarily, although that would be pretty awesome too. Something like where it would detect where I am and adjust my outward appearance. Kind of like an on the spot wardrobe change. I occasionally have interdimensional missions that require some element of stealth or blending among the locals."

"Dude, what kind of knight _are_ you? I can barely see you as a normal knight, let alone some kind of spy."

"Oh, I'm many things Janna. Knight. Spy. Personal guard. Karate master. **Future-**" He posed to emphasize his roles before Janna cut him off.

"Stuff it Diaz, we're here." Janna said as she put her hand flush against the door to the Mage wing. The door began to glow yellow around her hand, revealing intertwining symbols extending from each of her fingertips. They joined together at the tips making a circle with bat wings which extended from the sides of her hand. A vertical yellow light began to shine through the conjoined portions of the doors as a loud crack emanated from them.

The doors began to slowly creek open revealing a large circular, almost medieval, room lit by a pillar of fire in the center. There were multiple tables with piles of books scattered around the room. Smaller wall candles were located on either side of the four doors on the four sides of the room. There was a faint berry smell which Marco noticed as they both entered. He looked around and spotted an armor stand near the center of the room, presumably where his suit resided during its creation. They walked towards a table near the back portion of the room which had test tubes positioned on top around its perimeter and a large book opened in the center.

Janna took a seat in front of the book and turned back to Marco. "Okay, let me see that stone." Marco reached into his pocket and pulled out the glowing stone, handing it over. "Now, the first thing you need to do is back off. I don't want you breathing down my neck." Marco grumbled, but obliged and stepped back, giving her more than enough working room. "Next, I need to figure out what kind of power source this is. And that's going to be the longest part, guaranteed." She placed the stone into a beaker containing a pulsating lime green liquid and covered it up. "Well, that's all I can do for now."

"That's it?" Marco questioned. "All you did was place it into Mountain Dew. What's that supposed to do?"

"Well, if you really _must_ know, it's a primary detection solution. There are so many different types of energy that exist, that to narrow an unknown down to one, will take a whole hell of a lot of trials. And each trial has its own timeframe, which- wait. Why am I even trying to explain this to you? Just let me do my testing. I'm pretty good at this, so it'll probably only take a day or two in total. Maybe longer if you're here..." She purred, sliding close to him.

"I… Uh… Ahem. I'll just leave you to it if that's the case." Marco's voice cracked as he turned around and began hastily walking towards the door.

"Oh, get over yourself. You're too big of a wimp to interest me anyhow. It's just fun to mess with you and make you all stuttery and embarrassed. Not to mention I know you have a thing for Star, and as her best friend, it is my duty to screen out all undesirable suitors. Especially ones that continue to wear the same hoodies for years. I mean, come on man. Get a jacket or something. Anything." Janna slouched back into her chair and propped her leg on her other knee, waiting for Marco to get his wits about him.

"Hey! This is a quality article of clothing and=" Marco stopped and furrowed his brow. "I do _not_ have a thing for Star. That was a once and done thing and we both agreed to put it behind us to preserve our friendship. There's absolutely nothing more than feelings of strong mutual friendship. And I'm not going to have you suggesting anything contrary to that. It's not true. No ifs ands or buts."

"Mhm, right. Well anyways, I'll have time while the stone is cooking so I can poke around at your suit for a bit. Now, strip for me, squire." She twirled her finger, to which Marco was not akin. He knew that Janna was just joking, but the sexual jokes get old after being relentlessly piled on. Janna senses his hesitation and rolled her eyes in response.

"Seriously though, take it off so I can work on it. I have some of your clothes in my bedroom." She pointed over towards one of the doors which had a large letter J carved into it.

"I'm not even going to ask." Marco grumbled.

"I wouldn't if I were you."

Marco walked into her bedroom and quickly changed into his street clothes, bringing out the suit of armor for Janna. She set it up on the stand in the center of the room and walked back, trying to get a more complete feel of it.

"Man, what was I thinking? Black on red? Let's just switch that around. She walked over to one of her tables and grabbed a pair of long black gloves as well as some goggles. "I'd stand back if I were you. It can get a little messy sometimes."

Marco moved back towards the bedroom, never letting his gaze leave the suit.

Janna slipped on the gloves and goggles and cracked her knuckles. She held one hand out towards the suit and began chanting in an old mewman language. A short circle of black fire appeared and rotated around her feet as she continued. She started to twist and clench her outstretched hand and pulled it back as she pushed her other hand forward. A circle of red fire surrounded the armor and began spinning faster and growing in height until the suit was no longer able to be seen. Janna finished her chant, clutched her outward hand, and the circles of fire immediately disappeared. "Well that's one problem down." Janna said nonchalantly as she removed her goggles and gloves, tossing them back on to the table.

Marco looked back over to the suit which was now a sleek jet-black color. It was covered in hoodie red lines moving straight down the front and back of the appendages, stopping to outline certain symbols, such as the daggers. It was like a whole new suit all over again. His heart began to race with excitement. He wanted to try the amazing new color out. He went to reach for it and was stopped by Janna grabbing his wrist.

"This may be for you, but it's my creation and I'll be damned if you ruin it before I even start on the modifications. It might look better. Well, it definitely looks better, but nothing has actually changed. It's still the same suit. You're welcome to stay here if you want while I work on it, but you'll probably just get in the way and make it take longer anyway. So, actually, just go do something else. I'll take care of this alone." Janna shooed Marco with the flick of her wrist and turned back around to the suit.

"Fine. Guess I'll go lay down for a bit since today's been pretty exhausting. Almost eaten by a flying alligator, almost killed one of my best friends. Yeah, it's well deserved nap time."

"If I don't see you before then, I'll track you down once I finish the suit or find where the other sword pieces are located. Don't let the door hit you on the way out."

"Yeah yeah. See ya, Janna." Marco said as he made his way out of her dungeon. He walked down the hall towards his room deep in thought about earlier. He was almost killed by something that could've easily swallowed him whole, and he almost killed one of his best friends. And the worst part was, he almost _enjoyed_ that devastating blow he delivered to Tom. The way his skull cracked sent shivers down his spine, like he wanted more. He was lucky he snapped out of it from looking down on Tom's motionless body at the bottom of the pit. Otherwise, he may have even continued with his protruding instincts. Marco shuddered at the thought and opened the door to his room. He threw himself on the bed and tried not to relive that horrid moment as he drifted off to sleep.

/- ... . / ..-. - -..-/

Star walked down the hall towards the war room, twirling her wand in hand. She was already late to the point where her mom would severely chew her out, so why bother trying to make that time up? She wasn't sure what to expect from this meeting. Her mom was acting a little out of the ordinary when it came to speaking about the meeting today. For the past week she would mumble to herself about the general and her father, amongst others. Even earlier today before she left with Marco on their treasure hunt, she saw her mother half asleep in her throne with dark bags under her eyes. Whatever was keeping her awake was not something Star wanted to concern herself with. But she knew that she would be told 'it will be your duty as future queen to deal with important matters such as these' and blah blah blah. She knew full well the responsibilities which would be transferred to her, and she knew that taking them on full force without practice would basically be psychological suicide which would put her on the brink of total exhaustion. So here she was, preparing herself by going to this nightmare of a meeting, even if she was just a little late. Not without warrant of course, but her mother will still probably have a few choice words for her afterwards.

She finally reached the military wing and rounded the corner into the long hall with the war room at the end. She was immediately hit by the smell of coffee and BO. You would think that with the amount of wealth and prestige these officers have, they would be able to afford somewhere to sleep besides their office. And be able to get a shower once in a while. Oh well, guess it was just something else that she would have to ignore during the meeting. As she approached the end of the hall, the faint arguing of her mother with what could only be assumed as one of the generals came to ear. She opened the double doors to the room and immediately wished she hadn't.

"I don't care if it's considered 'unethical'! It's not only for the safety of this kingdom, but for the safety of all the surrounding kingdoms as well! We don't know what exactly we're up against here and we need to be prepared to handle the worst. Even if it means sacrificing soldiers. The good of the whole outweighs the lives of the few." A short, stout man was hunched over the table eyeing down the queen as she looked down upon him with rising internal anger.

Moon took a deep breath. "General Oland, I understand the reason that you're willing to take such measures, but in doing so, you're only hurting the people you're trying to protect. That is why I cannot authorize such a heavy preemptive strike. That is my final decision on the matter and I will not have it brought up again. Do I make myself clear?" She spoke sternly as the general stood up straight.

"You don't know the repercussions this will have on us Queen Moon. There will be much more bloodshed on your hands with this option than with mine. I hope you're ready to deal with the consequences. For all of our sake." He gritted through his teeth.

Oland took his seat, brushing off his lavish blue military uniform. He took a sip of his beverage and crossed his arms, making him look like a large cube. The greying old man looked downright disappointed in Moon. He took a deep breath and looked over towards Star who was creeping in, trying her best to go unnoticed. "Glad you could finally join us, Princess." He said calmly.

The rest of the room's occupants glanced over towards the door where Star was hunched over, mid tip toe. "Heh." She muttered, completely embarrassed. "Something kinda came up and took a little longer than I thought. But don't let me interrupt. Please, continue." She continued over to her seat beside Moon who eyed her, following every movement. "I'm in trouble, aren't I?" She sheepishly whispered.

"Trouble doesn't even begin to describe it. We'll talk later." Moon turned to the rest of the military officers and cleared her throat. "Now, we need to increase our defenses and activate the dimensional disruptors. We should be able to identify and ward off any attack that could be set on us with more patrols and the new threat detectors developed by the engineers. All reserve soldiers will be retrained in use of our weaponry and defensive measures including the M-Cannons, laser rifles, and anti-magic discs. Basic training will start in exactly one week at 6 am sharp. I also want the entirety of the Mage staff to accelerate their research on magical defenses and weapons. They're some of the best and brightest, so if anyone can help to increase our odds of winning, it's them. Star and I will be in the training grounds as well, alongside the existing and future Knights and Warlocks to help them prepare during our less pressing time. Something big is on the way, and it is our duty as the protectors of the kingdom to see to it that we are not eradicated. We will have another meeting in three days time to discuss the precise measures that will be taken for training, experimentation, and all other aspects we discussed in the last hour. I want all information regarding your allotted sectors brought as well. Bring your coffee next meeting, it will be a long one. Dismissed."

The officers began gathering their things and filed out of the room leaving only Moon and Star behind. Moon walked over to the doors and closed them to keep some privacy. "Star. Why exactly were you late? I've been telling you for weeks now that the upcoming meetings are of the utmost importance and that it is your duty as the princess to learn what to do and how to do it. Showing up late is not something that should happen. Especially when it's something as important as this."

"Well for it being so important, I don't remember you actually telling me anything about it besides that it's important, the hundred times I asked! You want me to learn the ropes and show up on time for important meetings? Fine. But you could at least tell me what all this Is about. I'm never told anything around here, and I'm the freakin princess! Not to mention you always treat me like I'm still a little kid. I'm 20 now, mom. I've done a lot of growing up since you first gave me this wand, and I think I've shown enough growth to be considered worthy of being told what a simple meeting is going to be about."

Star knew that pushing her mother like this usually ended poorly, and she could only hope for a miracle that this wouldn't be the case again. But she knew she was in the right this time. If she was going to be a part of something, something big, then she should certainly know what it is. Luckily for her, fate seemed to be on her side today.

"You have done a lot of growing up since then, Star. And believe it or not, I am very proud of who you've become. You aren't just a rebel princess anymore. You're a model that everyone should learn from, time management aside." Star puckered her lips at the jab but Moon continued as though she hadn't even seen it. "And yes, you're most certainly not perfect, but no one is. So, maybe I should put more trust in you. And after I tell you what the meeting was about, I fully expect you to never be late again. Protection of the kingdom is your first and foremost duty, and it begins in this room with those people. They may not be the most pleasant bunch, but when it comes to keeping our people safe, there's no group that can head it better than them."

Star was at a complete and utter loss for words. She stood there baffled that her mother would call her someone who everyone wants to look up to. She looked down at her hands and thought of how one day she would be sitting on the throne with nobody to look up to. Her mother wouldn't be around forever and who knows how much of a toll being queen takes on your body; she may not be able to seek out answers from her mother for long during her own reign, so she should do it now, while she still has the chance. And with the Queen being so open right now, it's the perfect opportunity.

"Mom..." Star began hesitantly. "Before you start telling me about what these meetings are about, I have something that I should probably tell you first."

Moon cocked her eyebrow. "Alright sweetheart. What is it?"

Star reluctantly looked away for a split second before returning her gaze to Moon. "Today, Marco and I found something together. Something that I didn't think was real. But we found it. Something I think is so powerful, it could change this kingdom forever."

Moon solemnly sighed. "I remember that feeling. That's the same thing that I felt when I met your father. There's nothing more powerful than love, Star. No matter what kind of weapons or destructive tactics may be pulled on you, it will beat them all. Marco is a nice young man, and as your mother, I only want to see you happy. And if he's able to do that, then-"

"What? No! No no no. Marco and I are just friends! There's... There's nothing _actually_ there between us like that. And even if there was, I... We need to keep our friendship intact. No sense in losing each other over something dumb like that anyhow, right? Heh..." Her face turned from a half smile to a frown as she finished up her thought.

"Star, if you do care about him like that, which I'm not saying that you do, it's worth trying. Otherwise you'll only grow to resent yourself years later for never attempting to take that step. And if it's not meant to be, I'm sure you two will be able to work it out and keep your friendship intact." Moon placed a hand on Star's shoulder and smiled at her.

Star looked up and half smiled back. "Yeah… Thanks mom." She pulled Moon into a tight hug.

"You're welcome sweetie. Now let's go. I think we should talk about the meeting a little later. How does some lunch sound? I always end up with the biggest appetite after sitting around with those crotchety old men."

They both laughed and began walking out of the room. "That sounds great mom. And I know the perfect place too. But you're going to have to change into something a lot less formal than your dress." Star motioned over Moon's attire.

"That sounds perfect. This dress does get a bit stuffy at times. Where are we going?"

"It's called Britta's Tacos, and it's on Earth. It's amaaazing." Star's mouth began to water at the thought of her sugary burrito.

"Well I'm always open to trying interdimensional cuisines. Give me a minute to change and we can go."

"Oh, you're going to love it. I usually get a burrito or a horchata and they're really good on their own, but when you put sugar on them they're even better. Marco says I'm just ruining them, but…"

Moon smiled as she walked with Star going off on how much she loved what they called a Mexican dish. Moon knew the horrors that awaited them and the kingdom in the not too distant future, but just for a few hours she'd like to forget them and enjoy some time with her daughter. Something big was coming, and she might not get the chance to be with Star for much longer.

/.- .. .-.. .-.. / -... .-. . .- -.-/

Marco swung the door to his bedroom open and began his journey towards the castle kitchen to find something to eat. Midnight snacks were a delicacy no matter what dimension you were in. Hopefully the chefs still had the materials for huevos rancheros. He asked them for the ingredients before and they said they would need time to import some of the ingredients, but they are reliable to those staying in the castle, so he kept his hopes up.

On his way down the hall he noticed some of the furniture had been rearranged giving the place a more open feeling. The table that once cluttered the middle of the hallway no longer sat there, some of the weaponry which was scattered all over the walls was nowhere to be seen, and there was a fresh spring aroma which filled the air. It was as if someone had jumped into his mind and pulled out all the superb ideas which constantly bombarded him. It was nice to have things how you like it, even if they were strangely similar to his thoughts. He shrugged it off, stomach taking precedence of his mind.

Marco continued through the corridor of the castle admiring all the new things which must have occurred overnight. He eventually made it to the kitchen, but there were no chefs anywhere in sight. He took a moment to look around and check for anyone who should be working, but he found nobody in sight. So, he decided to just go about his business and make it himself. They always were best when he did it himself anyway. Unless it was his father making them. Nobody could cook up a breakfast quite like he could. He smiled at the thought of his family. Maybe later today he would take a trip to visit them. He's sure little Mariposa would be happy to see him.

After he finished cooking his snack, Marco decided to take his food on the go and walked around the castle looking for someone. Anyone. The whole castle was like a ghost town. He trekked up and down the halls, looking in each public room, out every window, and over the balconies, but it was as if everyone just disappeared without a trace. At least he had his delectable meal to keep him company. Marco walked back towards his room to get his phone. Maybe Star was up and had some sort of idea on what's going on around here. He rounded the corner to the hallway where his room was located and bumped into someone, knocking his half-eaten breakfast dish all over the floor.

Marco heard a grumble from who he bumped into. "Oh man I'm sorry. I was so deep in thought that I wasn't paying much attention to anything else." He began wiping eggs and sauce off his shirt as he apologized. Looking up Marco saw that the one he ended up spilling his food on was Tom. "Tom! You're here!" Marco smiled as he looked down, seeing the mess he made all over him. "Sorry about the food on your clothes, but I'm glad you're okay. I wanted to apologize for what I did to you yesterday. I honestly don't know what came over me. It feels like such a blur now, but that's no excuse for what happened. I owe you more than just an apology, and if there's any way I can make it up to you, please just give the word and I'll do it."

"Look dude, I'm a little freaked at what happened too, but I'm definitely one to know what it's like to lose control during a fight. It literally happened seconds before you did. You just didn't end up in the ground is all. Don't sweat it. It's not like you did anything intentionally." Tom crouched down and began helping Marco clean up the eggs and bits of shattered plate which were sprawled across the floor. He reached for a large piece and gripped it too hard, drawing blood. "Damn! I know there's worse, but something about getting sliced like that, it sucks." He gripped his now bleeding hand, droplets of red falling to the floor.

"Yeah..." Marco said halfheartedly, his focus being drawn to the blood. His heart began to beat faster as he tasted the salty water which had begun covering his lips. He focused on Tom's hand more and more intently as his own hands started to tremble and his breathing became more rapid.

"Hey man, you're not looking so hot. And I'm the one that's supposed to be injured here." Tom joked, trying to lighten the increasingly uncomfortable situation. "Well... I think I'll just head over to the medical wing. They can patch me up real quick. They just did that not too long ago anyways." Tom coughed awkwardly into his fist and began to shuffle backwards.

"Wait! I can fix it." Marco quickly spat out. He snagged Tom's bleeding arm and pulled him close. Tom tried to jerk away, but he couldn't free himself of Marco's death grip.

"Dude, let me go." Tom insisted as he tried prying Marco's fingers off. But Marco wouldn't budge. Feeling as if there were no other way, Tom ignited his opposing fist and reared his arm back, throwing a punch that could knock out even his mother. Marco barely flinched. Tom's eyes widened with horror as he was pulled in close to Marco.

Marco's skin began to change hue, going from his normal bronze to a jet black. His hair grew out in soft spikes as he tore out of his shirt, his muscles growing and twitching. His eyes began to glow purple and his nails were honed into sharp claws which extended from his fingertips.

Marco opened his mouth and revealed rows of sharp serrated teeth. He drew a line in Tom's forearm with his claw and smiled before sinking his teeth deep into it. Tom let out a blood curdling scream as he desperately tried to pull away. For what seemed like an eternity he tried to escape his once friend's hold on him, but nothing was working. He was becoming weak, the rapid loss of blood getting the best of him. Vision fading, Tom saw Marco unhinge his jaw and move towards his face. "P- please..." He sputtered out, holding his good arm out in a desperate attempt to stop the madness as he slipped into unconsciousness.

Marco shot up from his bed, sweat encompassing every square inch of his head. His rapid heavy breathing was the only sound that could be heard. His eyes darted around the room trying to take in any information on where he was and what had happened. After a few moment of initial panic, he looked down at his watch reading 4:07. He wiped down his face with the bed sheets and looked down at himself seeing his red hoodie and pants. Exactly what he left Janna's in.

Flopping back down, Marco's mind began to race. Was it all a dream? More like a nightmare, but still. He stuck his finger to his teeth. Normal. It had to have been a dream. There is no way that anything like that could happen to him, or that he would ever do such a thing to Tom. Marco drug his hands over his face wallowing in his own self turmoil.

On one hand, Tom was one of his best friends and he would never actively do anything to harm him; but on the other hand, he had no control over himself during their match and look what happened there. There was no way to tell what was going to occur if he ever lost it again. All he knew was that he had to do his best to keep himself on a fairly tight leash and pray that didn't happen again. Because if it were to, there could be a much more unfortunate fate for them both.

At 4:17 am and not really anything to show for his mental self therapy session, Marco decided it was best to try and get back to sleep. There's always tomorrow to try and sort through his thoughts. It's not like he was doing anything of great importance anyhow. He drifted off to sleep with the hope of tomorrow bringing him the clarity he so desperately desired.

/..-. .-. . ./

Tom woke up in a panic as he tried to comprehend the situation he was in. Quickly pulling his arms towards his face, he saw that he was in one whole piece. Nothing was different from earlier in the day. He looked around the dimly lit room in an attempt to figure out what had happened to him. The faint glow of lights from beyond the door to his room illuminated his surroundings just enough for him to see.

There was a small mobile table that could reach over his bed, an IV pole which hung by his head with a line running from a clear bag into his arm, and he was wearing some kind of gown. Great. He grumbled with the fact that he couldn't say he was never in a gown anymore. If nothing else, he at least knew that he was in the hospital. Probably in Mewni considering hospitals in the Underworld are much warmer and cozier with their complementary fire pits and classy strung up skeletons.

He continued skimming the room when he saw someone slumped in a chair to his right. They were in a long black robe which had a few yellow symbols stitched into it. They had a bit of black hair falling out of the hood, but he couldn't tell who was sitting there. Not like it much mattered. If it were anyone who wanted him dead, he wouldn't have woken up, and they sure as hell wouldn't be asleep in the chair next to him.

Exhausted, Tom fell backwards onto the bed. What had happened felt so real. He had thought that Marco was actually eating him alive, and that he died watching it happen. He let out a deep breath he didn't know he was holding and closed his eyes. If he was in a hospital he may as well get some sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a very long day.

**I know this one is a little shorter but I'm hoping I'll be able to get the next chapter out faster. Thanks for reading!**


	4. Sharp Dressed Man

**I hope you're all enjoying your day and that you will enjoy this chapter of The Second Coming!**

**I ****do not own Star vs the Forces of Evil**

**-G**

* * *

Chapter 4

**Sharp Dressed Man**

Marco's eyes cracked his open to the buzzing coming from aside his bed. He rolled onto his side and reached over, silencing the nagging alarm and catching a whiff of himself in the process. He gagged at the horrid odor, but falling back asleep for hours drenched in your own sweat wouldn't provide a pleasing aroma for anyone. Not wanting to dwell on the nightmares of the past which started to surface, Marco pushed himself upright and swung his legs off the side of the bed. He stretched out his arms and took a nice over dramatic yawn before rubbing the crust from his eyes. Six in the morning always came so fast, no matter how many times he'd gotten up then.

He pushed himself up and off the bed, trudging over to the bathroom connected to his room. He had to admit, not having a bathroom connected to his bedroom didn't seem like much of a problem growing up, but now that he had a taste of it, there's nothing better. He opened the door and snapped his fingers, turning the lights on. He grabbed his towel for a shower and got right down to business. Body washed? Check. Toilet used? Check. Teeth brushed? Check. All that remained was to clean his clothes and he would be ready to snag a quick bite to eat before meeting the squires for training on what little field they had remaining. He had hoped that the groundskeepers would be able to fix the field, but his mini catastrophe was probably too much to handle in that short amount of time. Either way, the squires weren't getting out of training today. It was endurance day. The highlight of his, and obviously their, week.

Marco snatched a bagel and some cream cheese from the kitchen before heading to the training grounds. He got there and, unsurprisingly, all the squires were there waiting for him. "Good morning everyone." He greeted, walking up to the squad who snapped to attention.

"Good morning Sir Marco!" They all replied in unison, with their fists lain over their hearts.

"Glad to see you're all up and ready for the best day of the week." He smiled, taking a bite out of his bagel. He made his way over to the crater and looked into it. A devilishly brilliant idea formed as he addressed his underlings. "Today's endurance day will consist of something a little different. I'll let you know the details after you finish your five laps around the castle grounds. Go!" He yelled, pointing off into the distance.

"Yes Sir!" The group forcefully replied as they took off running in the direction Marco pointed.

"Sometimes I feel like I have too much power." He smiled, taking another bite out of his bagel.

"I agree." Came a voice from behind him.

Marco whipped around, almost losing the larger chunks of cream cheese spread. "Tom? You're up so soon?"

"Give me a little credit, man. Prince of the underworld and all. I have to be tough. You might be able to knock me down, but I'll be down for a lot shorter time than you." He smirked and flicked his jacket. Tom stuffed his hands into his pockets and looked down at the hole. His face scrunched slightly in contemplation as his brows peaked over the massive eyesore. "I still can't believe you put me in there. You're human after all, even with that little touch of demon. And let's be honest, compared to the creatures that inhabit Mewni, you're pretty weak. Especially when it comes to raw strength. Not saying you're a bad fighter-" he held up his arms in protest, "but if we had a contest of who was able to lift, push, or pull more, you'd probably come in last."

Marco rolled his eyes at the jab to help Tom's own ego. "Well I still don't see you in the victor's circle, so don't act all high and-" Marco paused, finally processing what Tom had said. "Wait. What do you mean 'touch of demon'?"

Tom raised an eyebrow. "What do you think? That little bit of demon that you have stowed inside of you. It's a little bigger now, but I figured you knew about it. It's your body after all." He shrugged as though Marco was talking about something as common as having a head on his shoulders.

"You're saying that I have some kind of demon crawling around inside of me?" He began to worry. "And not only that it's inside of me, but it has _been_ inside of me _and_ it's getting bigger too?!" Marco began panicking, pulling at his hair and mumbling something about 'evil' and 'jewelry.'

"Dude, settle down. It's just a little thing. A lot of people have demons inside of them. Some metaphorical, and some literal. You just so happen to have a literal one, maybe a metaphorical one too, but I'm not going there. And you've had it for years too. It's not like it's harmful or anything. If it was, you'd be dead by now. Those demons only come in two categories. One, you have a deadly demon which ultimately destroys its host in a futile attempt to take over its body. Never works. Trust me, I've seen too many to count. Or two, you have a dormant demon. One that just chills in its host for a while until a better suitor comes along. They never do anything bad while in the dormant state. Just manifest every now and then, mainly during sleep where they feed on the brainwaves of their host. I love demon viruses. Specifically, the deadly ones. They're badass when they blow people up." He looked up, heaving a heavenly sigh.

"You're really going to make a joke like that after telling me that I've had a demon dormant inside of me for years? Seriously?"

"Chill out. Like I said, there's only two types. And since you're still alive, you have the dormant one. There's nothing to worry about. But since you've had it for such a long time, you must be a pretty good host. We mostly studied the killer ones, cause they're badass, but I'm sure you're fine." Tom said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Oh no. I can't believe I've been infected with this, this _thing_ for years! Who knows what'll happen to me..." Marco began a worried mumble to himself, fidgeting with his hands as he spoke.

"Hey. I may have hated your guts, but I never infected you with anything. That's the coward's fighting style." Tom pointed an accusatory finger, angered that Marco would even think of such a thing. Although, there was that one time with Naysaya, but if Marco didn't bring it up, he sure wasn't going to say anything now.

"What? What're you talking about? I never said that you infected me."

Okay. He was safe from that accusation, but there was still the matter of his denial right now.

"Really? You said it clear as day, and I quote, 'Tom probably did this when we were younger.' You're really trying to pitch that you didn't just say that?"

"I didn't..." Marco looked down, hastily running through what could have happened in his mind. After a few moments, his eyes widened. "I did think it though. And you say I said it clear as day, right?"

"Yeah. You sounded like you walked right up to me and said it to my face. How could I make that up?"

"Tom. I think I may have some long-term side effects from that virus. I didn't say a word about blaming you- but I thought it. And you saying that I said it like I was talking straight to you could only mean one of two things. One, I've gone completely off the deep end and need to take a long visit to the funny farm. Or two, you can hear my thoughts and I may be psychic."

"Well I definitely heard you, so you're not crazy. But what makes you so certain that you're the psychic one here?"

"It's just a gut feeling. If you want actual proof, I've got nothing. But it definitely feels right."

"I swear you get weirder every time I see you." Tom shook his head and looked over to where the squires were approaching, finishing their first lap. They were dripping in sweat from pushing themselves hard. It was promising to see that sort of dedication, especially this early in the morning. One of them even bent over off to the side and gripped his stomach as its contents came out all over the grassland near the trail they were on. He spit, wiped his mouth, and continued running to catch up to the rest of the squad that pulled away.

"Yeah." Marco agreed, looking to where Tom's gaze landed. "They're really dedicated to their training. I almost didn't believe how intense they were about it. All the manual labor, poor treatment, and generally unacceptable living style would put a harsh toll on anybody. But they persist. There's something special about this group. Even the ones that are the least skilled and weaker than the rest can put up one hell of a fight against a normal, fully trained knight. To be honest, they almost didn't get training because of it. No knight wanted to be upstaged by a squire, let alone a full squad of them. So nobody bothered to start their training. I felt bad for them, so I pushed my superiors, and after what felt like forever, I finally got them approved to me. Just in time too, otherwise they may have been sent through the initial cycle again and broken up. It would have been a shame to break up a squad that competes so well against each other and pushes the others to do better. They're great and I couldn't be prouder of them."

"I'm glad you're proud of them, but you gotta lay off the overly sentimental speeches man. You sound like a C list romance flick." Tom crossed his arms and gave his friend a smirk.

Marco rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"Hey I'm just kidding. But I should probably head out now. Don't want to be gone for too long, ya know? The folks might get worried and send the Hellhounds to sniff me out. And that wouldn't be good for anyone. Those things can sniff a drop of blood ten dimensions away. And don't even get me started on the mess they leave in their wake." Tom sighed happily, daydreaming about the trail of bodies that led him to his former teacher. "So anyway, I'll catch you later, Marco. Drop by if you're in the area. You're always welcome." Tom spun around on his heel and headed for the exit.

"I'll do that. See ya later, Tom." Marco waved goodbye as the demon walked out of eyesight. He turned around to the squires who were completing their second lap, huffing and puffing, yet still keeping pace with their previous time. Even though Marco _could_ admit that he did kind of sound like a romance movie at times, he was proud to see the effects of his dedication to them in their effort. He was training the next batch of warriors for the Mewman army, and possibly some of the next special ops warriors. He could definitely see a few of them making it that far. And if he had to pick favorites, it would probably be Kassandra. He had a gut feeling that she was going to turn out to be a one person army. He was even going to choose her for squad leader by the end of the week, and hopefully she would accept and rise to the occasion. Either way, they still had a lot on their plates for the day. The last thing anyone needed at the moment was a diversion of leadership. That'd be for week's end. He finished the rest of his bagel and grabbed a drink of water from the camel that was in the field. Today was going to be a long day.

/ -... .- -. . .-.. ... / .- -. -.. / - .- -.-. - ... /

"We need to go back there again. I think I just developed an unhealthy addiction to those tacos." Moon said, wiping her mouth and brushing off excess sugar from her tank top. She burned up the napkin in her hand and threw the ashes to the wind. "I'm glad we got to spend some time together sweetheart. I don't think we'll get to have fun like that for quite a while, considering what's going to happen in the next few weeks."

Star stared her mother down, determination overwhelming the pleasantries which had just composed her demeanor. "Okay. We need to talk about that. I think I deserve to finally get an answer, instead of just being pushed aside. I'm not a child anymore, mom." Star gripped her wand as it began to glow white and morph around her forearm. After the glowing subsided, a dark purple brace with thin yellow lines extending from the edges and converging on a red and yellow nautical star appeared. "See. I can even convert the wand into a warrior's brace. You told me you weren't able to learn that until you were like thirty. If I'm strong enough to master the wand, then I think I'm strong enough to bear the weight of at least helping the queen, if not fully taking on those responsibilities myself. Please mom, tell me what's going on."

Moon let out a solemn sigh and placed a hand on Star's shoulder. "I know that you've become strong. Much stronger than I was at that age, and perhaps even more than any of your ancestors would have been at that age as well. I know that, Star. What I don't want is for you to be overwhelmed with this plethora of new information all at once. It's a lot to put on someone your age, and even though you may be able to handle it right now, you will be able to handle it much better if it is slowly laid out for you." Moon stopped and turned Star towards her. "But, if you think you can handle it, I will carefully lay everything out for you. Every. Last. Detail. But heed my warning Star, you won't like where this is headed."

Star nodded, knowing full well that this could possibly turn her world upside-down. But then again, is anyone ever ready to handle something that serious? She pushes on regardless. "I can handle this, mom."

"Very well, dear. But we should go to my chambers. As trustworthy as the people are in this castle, there aren't any I would like hearing this before the time is right." Moon turned and began walking for her bedroom with Star trailing at her heel.

They both walked into the royal chamber and Moon shut the door behind them. Moon's cheek marks flashed, and glowing diamonds appeared over each door and window in the room as they slammed shut. "Don't want anyone peeking or hearing, now would we?" She made her way over to the bed and sat down, patting the spot beside her. Star walked over, taking the invitation to sit beside her mother.

"Now there are a few parts to this." Moon began. "There's confirmation of a large scale monster uprising in progress. A few of our elite spies were able to make their way into monster territory and have caught wind of a revolutionary revolt. We sent a few more of them out but they were unable to gain any further Intel- at least until last week. About this time last week, we sent Magnus O'Pain and his hand picked squadron back into the monster's main headquarters. They saw the high ranking officials, generals, and nobles, along with King Globgor with an assault map, planning an invasion of not just our kingdom, but all of Mewni's allies."

Moon took a deep breath before she continued. "Star. War is among us, and right now we don't have the numbers to stop it. While they may not be the most civilized species in the realm, the monsters are incredibly advanced fighters. At least once you get past the vast waves of infantry. We need to stop this before it begins. All of our allies have been informed and we are having a summit in two days to discuss further options. Even all of this planning is second to our primary goal: stopping the attacks before they begin. That's actually what your father is doing right now. He's not actually going on a hunting trip. He's going to attempt a diplomatic approach. Trying to show that we care about the monster body, and that our peace treaty from years ago wasn't just an act to show that we are not a racist people." Moon blew a stray hair out of her eye and stood up. She walked through the doorway to her office and started shuffling through papers. Tossing a few onto the floor, she held a large one up and made her way back to the bedroom.

"This." Moon handed Star a worn and torn sheet of paper. "Is our best bet as a backup plan. In case diplomacy fails us."

Star took the paper and turned it right side up. She looked over the paper, her eyes widening the further she went along. As she finished, she looked up to her mother, mouth agape. "Mom... This-" she pointed at the center of the sheet, "how do you know about this?"

"It was thought to be an old husband's tale told through the generations before us. Nobody thought it to be true since having that much power stored in one item would most likely break the fabric of space-time. But I have reason to believe that it does, in fact, exist. An old friend of mine, Jonathan, recently got into contact with me. He told me about how he was hunting the pieces of it down, but wasn't able to produce any tracing incantations powerful enough to locate it. He said how, despite its immense power, the energy given off by it was concealed to perfection. He believed that if I wasn't able to find it, then the only way it will be found is if it wants to be found." Moon walked over to the mirror and let her hair down. She started fluffing and brushing it, intermittently glancing back at Star who was nose deep in the paper.

"Mom, I was going to tell you this a little later, but after the bombs you just dropped on me, I think it's only fair that I do the same."

Moon raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?" She turned around and walked over towards Star, placing her hands on her hips as she stopped. "What do you have to 'drop' on me?" She asked, putting artificial air quotes around the word drop.

Star took a deep breath and looked Moon straight in the eye. "We found Orion's Buckle. The main power source for the sword. Marco and I found it in the jungles of Edema. I was going to tell you earlier, but I wasn't sure how to bring it up since I thought you didn't know about it and telling you that I found some kind of limitless power source to an ancient weapon seemed weird to just bring up out of nowhere and I'm sorry." Star hung her head following her exasperated rambling and bit her lip anticipating the wrath of the Queen. A wrath which she realized never actually came.

"Star." Moon spoke sternly. "Where is it? If it's in our possession, we must act immediately. Stalling of any kind could mean the difference between the survival or extinction of our people." She pulled Star to her feet, electing a quick yelp from Star as she was hoisted up. "Let me see it. I need to find the other two parts before anything unspeakable happens." Moon held out her hand to Star.

"Yeah, that's the thing mom." Star tapped her two index fingers together. "I don't have it right now. I actually gave it to Shayman's assistant, Janna." Star grabbed Moon as she began turning around. "And before you go and rip it out of her hands, hear me out. She's a better tracer than Shayman, and if anyone can find it, she can. She even said that she should be able to have the locations pinpointed to an area the size of a city within two days. Please mom, give her a chance. I don't think even you could find it as quickly. Can you trust me on this?"

Moon stood there for a moment, contemplating on whether she should put her trust in a 20 year old's tracing ability over her own. All logic dictates that a woman of her power, skill, and experience should not. She is the queen and the most powerful magical warrior in all of Mewni. However, she could see in her daughter's eyes that there was something worth trusting in her. Something that had been brewing for years and had just recently began to reveal itself. She wasn't just a rowdy, gung ho teenager anymore. She was a warrior and a future ruler. A ruler it seemed would even stand up to the highest form of authority in the land to do what she thought was right. This may come to bite her, but Moon gave her daughter the benefit of the doubt. Moon nodded. "Very well. However, if she does not have a location within the next two days, I will be taking over her progress and heading the search myself. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal." Star smiled, the twang in her chest gone from her mother's decision.

"Good. Although, I would like to see the progress that she is making on it. I may drop by on my way back to the throne room before I must deal with these insufferable nobles."

"Just, please don't push her too hard about finishing faster. That's definitely not how she works."

"Alright, alright. I'll just check progress. No more, no less. Maybe I'll stop by that taco stand on the way there too..."

"Mom! We were literally _just _there. And you had, like, six of them." Str exclaimed, the corners of her mouth beginning to pull upwards.

"I suppose you're right. Wouldn't want to mess with this perfect figure." She said, sliding her hand down her waist and hip.

"Mom. Please don't _ever_ do that again. I have enough mental issues thanks to dad barging around the castle like a wildman." Star shivered from the thought of her old and new psychologically damaging experiences.

"And the way he looks at me. Mmm. I wouldn't want anything changing there either." She grinned.

"Mom! That's _sooo_ gross. If I never hear anything like that again, it'll be too soon." Star complained with her hands over her ears.

Moon could only laugh at her daughter's exaggerated behaviors. "Alright dear. I'm going to check on your friend's progress. Would you like to join me?"

"I think I'll just stay here and wipe my memory. Start fresh, you know?"

Moon's face dropped to a scolding look that Star was far too familiar with.

"Fine. I'll stop." Star said, letting a small yawn slip. "It's getting late anyways, I think I'll just get ready to turn in for the night. You can tell me all about your fun talk with Janna tomorrow."

"Alright sweetie. I'll see you tomorrow then." Moon gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, mom." She hugged her mom and headed out the door towards her room. On her way back she wondered, just why had her mom accepted her plan so easily? She barely had to plead her case and her mom was ready to follow her footsteps. That never happened. Never. While her mother did occasionally follow her plans, it usually took much more convincing than that. Could she really have thought that her plan was superior to whatever came into her mother's mind? Definitely not. That'd be the day The Underworld would freeze over. So why would she just accept something like that? Unless... Unless she just wanted to know where the stone was. Where she could find it and grab it in order for her to use it to find the pieces her own way. Well it wouldn't work. At least not as fast or as well as it would with Janna.

Star stopped. Janna. That's where her mom was going. Her mom isn't going back to the throne room; she is going to grab it from Janna and ruin all of the progress that she made on finding the stone. She had to get over there now.

Star took off like a bat out of hell down the hall towards the mage wing. She bumped into nearly every one and every thing on her mad dash. She eventually skidded to a halt in front of the large double doorway that led to the Mage's workplaces. Star placed her hand on the door and concentrated on Janna. The yellow symbols appeared out of her hand, just as they had when Janna opened everything up. The doors unlocked and Star pushed them open to reveal Janna's workroom. Although, this time the walls were lit up a bright orange hue with yellow borders, almost as though they were glowing.

She checked around the immediate area for any sign of Janna. Nothing. Star could tell she had been hard at work; Janna had pinned up and had hanging parchment depicting various locations across the universe. Some were circled, others crossed out, all with various lines connecting one another. There was one piece laying in front of her work station that was circled multiple times. Star looked closer and come to a realization.

The Androma Isles.

Really? One of the biggest and busiest vacation spots in the known universe is where a piece of arguably the most powerful weapon is being hidden? She supposed that hiding it in plain sight could work, or it could've been there before they founded the spot. Either way, it beats a dense, bug infested jungle any day.

Star smiled to herself and turned around. She noticed that there were two different body suits hanging up in the middle of the room where the armor stand used to be. They looked like the suits she and Marco wore when they went skydiving on Earth. Without the wings of course. She took a closer look at them, admiring their sleek and skin tight design. The one was approximately her body type, size and shape eerily close to her own. Outfitted in a stylish lavender base color with pink stripes running up and down the length of it like a circuit board, Star thought it could have been a custom order straight from her. And aside from the color of the stripes, it had varying symbols just like Marco's suit of armor. The other suit looked a bit too big for her though. A black base with red lines running up and down, which was pretty cool, but definitely wouldn't fit her or her style.

"Like what you see?" A smug voice said from behind her.

Star turned around to see Janna standing in the doorway to her bedroom with her arms crossed, giving her that trademark smirk.

"Yeah, I do." Star responded, running her fingers down the arm of the purple suit. "And it feels so soft and comfortable too. Are both of these for Marco? Cause I don't think that purple and pink are really in his wardrobe." She began dazing out, looking at the suit.

"Yeah I wouldn't really think so either." Janna said a little loudly to snap Star out of her trance. She walked over next to Star and admired the two suits. "That suit isn't for him, just so you know. I kind of get the feeling you just want it to be yours." She raised an eyebrow and eyed Star, who could only shake her head in agreement. Janna chuckled. "Well, I did make it specifically for you, you know."

Star snapped her head towards Janna, astonished. "What? Are you serious?"

Janna nodded and began to pull the purple suit off its stand. "I was only going to do one for Marco, but I changed my mind. And before I tell you why, I suggest you try this out." She pulled the last part off the stand and handed the draping suit over to Star. "You can change in my bedroom if you want. Or here, your choice." She winked at Star.

Star snorted and began laughing. "Oh you'd like a little show, huh?" Star put her hands above her head and began to dance down and back up, swing her hips and knees back and forth. Janna busted out laughing with Star following suit. Trying to catch her breath, Star began walking towards Janna's bedroom. "I'll just be a minute. Unless you made this thing obnoxiously hard to put on."

"Nah. Just slip it on and come back out. I'll set the whole thing up out here."

Star nodded and walked in to change. She walked back out about two minutes later, covered neck to toe in purple and pink. "Okay, I'm not sure how you did it, but this thing is sooo comfortable. Like, I'd wear it all day every day. The spandex fits perfectly and these boots are even better than mine." She bounced on the balls of her feet a few times and snapped the material on her outer thigh.

"Good." Janna smiled. "Cause those suits were a bitch to make. It took me a few months to formulate the right material that would stretch and transform to my specific input. To be honest, it was an accident that I found it in the first place. But forget about that. Come here and I'll get it set up for you." She waved Star towards her. Janna grabbed Star's right wrist and looked at the top of her forearm. She moved her own hand and tapped the top of Star's wrist. A portion of the suit slid from the top of her wrist revealing her skin. "I'm pretty proud of this one." Janna said, pointing to Star's revealed skin.

Star gave her a quizzical look. "Making it slide back? Not to be an ass or anything, but that's pretty basic magic, Janna. Even Ludo was able to make things move, and he's about as bright as a Manotaur."

Janna held up her index finger. "One, don't be rude, Princess. I just made you this badass suit." She held up her middle finger as well. "And two, you haven't even seen the tip of the iceberg yet." Janna cleared her throat. "SX1." The area on Star's left wrist was quickly covered by a screen containing a multitude of controls with an 'O' in the upper right corner, covered in black flames. "Setup new user. Name, Star Butterfly." Janna ordered. The screen shifted and prompted Star.

**ENTER IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION**.

"What does it mean by that?" Star questioned.

"That's just a precautionary measure. See, unlike your wand which can identify you automatically on the first meeting, my talismans need some sort of initial data. So, it's going to scan you, your voice, eyes, and fingerprints."

Star looked down to her forearm and back to Janna. "Is it going to hurt?"

"Psh. Nah." Janna paused and puckered her lips. "Well, it shouldn't be _too_ bad."

"_What_?" Star asked quickly.

"SX1. Scan." Janna stated.

**SCANNING...**

A plume of lavender and white smoke exited the suit from the top of Star's wrist and began swirling at her feet, gradually making its way up her legs and torso until it swallowed her head, leaving nothing but a vibrant cloud to see. She held her breath and tensed her body waiting for the pain to consume her. All of a sudden it felt like claws dug deep into her skin, slowly covering every inch of her body as though she were being ripped apart by a sadistic bear. She let out a scream of pain as the clawing started to burn. The piercing pain continued as her eyes, throat, and fingertips felt as though they were being singed off, molecule by molecule. She could feel her vision tunneling, her head became light and her eyelids heavy. As her knees began to buckle, the pain instantly stopped and she dropped to her hands and knees. Gasping for air, she coughed out blood onto the floor and tried to catch her breath. After about a minute of struggling to regain her breath, Star spat out the remaining mixture of blood and saliva from her mouth. She reached for the nearby table and was helped up by Janna. She gave her a large cup of what tasted like tea with honey. She gulped down the soothing beverage as though it were her sole purpose in life.

"Yeah. The fingers and eyes instantly stop burning after it's done, but I can't seem to tell why the throat pain keeps persisting. It's not like I'm a doctor or anything, so hopefully you're able to recover from that. I did at least. I probably should've warned you about it, but then you might not have agreed and the suit wouldn't work. I sure don't need it for myself, so that'd be a waste. Besides, I knew the tea would help to soothe your throat. It's green tea with honey and a little something I like to call 'The High Commission.' It really helps with any problem you have. Makes you feel all good inside, man." She smirked and put a hand on Star's shoulder.

"For real though, I'm sorry about sort of lying to you. Lying by omission and all, I suppose. But it's definitely worth every bit of pain you just went through. Now your suit recognizes you as its main user, and as such, you have full control over it. Oh yeah, and there's a section on your right arm that can retract," she pressed on Star's wrist which retracted the forearm of her suit. "That's for the wand in its warrior brace form. I figured you'd like to have it set so that it wouldn't have to go over anything. So whenever the wand goes on, the suit automatically retracts, and when it comes off the suit extends. Pretty simple, and a nice little touch if I do say so myself. You just need to activate that feature by attaching your wand as a brace. But you can do that whenever."

Janna clasped her hands together. "Other features. The whole thing is a suit of armor. And a pretty tough one at that. It can withstand about 10,000 pounds per square inch of force. So don't get stabbed by anything that can exceed that. Fireproof, automatic heating and cooling, weapon summoning though I doubt you'll need that, built in portal generator in case your butterfly form fails you for some reason, automatic wardrobe change based on location, impact energy absorption..." She stopped and scratched her head. "I'm definitely missing stuff but I don't have my list. Oh well, I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out. And not to mention it's voice activated so just use it like your wand and if it can't do something, it'll just tell you to bite it."

Star quickly shook her head back and forth. "That's a lot of stuff, Janna. How did you have time to even make this? I thought you were going to implement Marco's changes from yesterday too." She continued looking over her suit. She poked at one of the dagger shaped outlines, and a dagger materialized and fell to the ground. She picked it up and looked at her reflection in it. It was perfectly constructed. She could barely make something this perfect with all her years training with and without the wand.

"Right. Yesterday. Well, I guess that's a little farther back for me than you. See, I may not have been able to pinpoint the signal from Orion's Buckle right away, so I transported my place to Heckapoo's dimension." She gestured around to the flickering orange walls. "There I was able to pinpoint the gemstone, upgrade the suits to perfection, and get enough beauty sleep to make myself look like a pinup girl."

Star cracked a smile and went over to Janna, pulling her into a bone crushing hug. "You're the best, Janna-banana."

"You don't have to tell me what I already know." Janna smiled, hugging her back. "So, you ready to test this thing out before I tell you about the other parts to the sword?"

Star pushed her back quickly, her grip still holding strong. "Oh no. The sword. Janna! You have to give me the stone right now, and if you know where the spots are for the pieces of the sword, you need to tell me right now too." Star backed away from Janna, opening a portal above them. Right as it opened Marco fell through on his backside, dressed only in his underwear.

Marco scrambled backwards trying to figure out where he was. His eyes darted between Star and Janna, and his shoulders slumped a bit as he began to relax a little. He looked down and noticed he was only in his underwear and frantically tried to cover himself up.

"Marco. Get up and make yourself decent. Janna found the other parts of the sword." Star ran over to him, reaching out her hand which Marco took to hoist himself onto his feet, making sure to still keep one arm over his half naked body.

Marco raised a questioning eyebrow. "I thought you said it would take a few days. How'd you get it so early?" He looked down at himself. "Also, do you have some clothing I can put on? Or do I have to walk back to my room half naked because Star decided to just teleport me out of the blue, even though I _specifically_ told her not to." He threw his arms up, and immediately placed them back down in front of him after forgetting about his exposed torso.

"Okay, don't be such a baby about being in your boxers. They're less revealing than my grandpa's bathing suit. And trust me, anything you have _cannot_ be worse than that. On a somewhat related note, I need to remember to make a mind wiping function for my robes. Also, it took me way longer than that to locate the pieces. Well, piece. I only have one pinpointed right now, and even that one is pretty poorly identified. I still need time to try and get a read on where the other one is. But to answer your first question, I relocated my room to your old fling's dimension to comparatively speed up time." She gestured to the walls surrounding them.

Marco's face scrunched before he realized who Janna was talking about. "Woah, woah. She was _not_ my 'old fling'."

"You mean to tell me that you spent your prime chasing a girl's tail, just to not get any tail? Either you're the worst flirt in the universe, or you grow up to be uglier than your Quest Buy portrait. Can't blame her if that's the case."

"Nah. He was a hunk." Star chimed in calmly.

"Oh? Is that so?" Janna began model striding over towards Marco.

"Janna!" Marco pointed at her.

"It's rude to point." She purred. "But if you want to be a bad boy... Well... I just can't say no to that." She winked and gave him a sly smile.

"Knock it off!" He yelled over dramatically.

"You're too easy, Diaz." Janna smiled and turned away from him. "Now let's go. I have your upgraded suit ready."

Marco perked up at the naming of his suit. "Really? I thought you said it would take you a while to make those improvements we talked about."

"What part of 'old fling's dimension' did you not get? I swear, it's like talking to a brick wall." She paused. "Actually, the brick wall would be better."

"What?" Marco asked.

"I said you suck at conversations. Now put the suit on before I change my mind and destroy it." She pointed at the suit being modeled in the center of the room.

Star walked over to the table she found the parchment on while Janna and Marco were having their weekly quarrel. Looking over the map she found the Androma Isles were located just outside of the Andromeda dimension. She puckered her lips trying to figure out where she heard that before. Androma Isles. She knew there was something she was forgetting about that place, but nothing beside 'tourist heaven' was coming up. Disregarding it for the time being, Star rolled up the paper and made her way back to Janna. "Where's Marco?" She asked.

"Well he didn't feel comfortable taking off his underwear in front of me, so he went to go change in the bathroom. Is that the map of Androma?" She asked, pointing to the rolled up paper in Star's hand.

"Yeah. I figured we should at least have a map of where we're going. The last thing I need to do is get lost. Not like it'll be a problem to get back here, but you can never be too prepared." She shrugged.

"Are you taking princess classes again?" Janna asked.

"Hey, just because I'm preparing for anything doesn't mean that-" She stopped at the sound of a door closing.

Janna shot Star a questioning look and turned around to see Marco brushing his suit off. He looked pretty good if she were to actually admit it. Tight suit, definition in _all_ the right places, slightly messed up hair. Not bad at all, she thought to herself.

Janna averted her gaze to Star who apparently lost conscious control of her jaw. She had it bad, but she still wasn't going to admit it. Maybe some day she would go for it again, but that day wasn't today. They had work to do. "Star, stop drooling. Marco, quit touching yourself and come over here." Janna waved them over to the table. "Let me see the map, Star." She happily obliged and handed it over. Marco was grumbling; something along the lines of 'no respect'. "Now, I know you two might not like all of this, but I have the first location of the missing sword pieces pinpointed to a city. Well, more like a collection of protected islands, jungles, and tourist spots. The Androma Isles. It's in the Andromeda dimension on the outskirts of the galaxy, naturally where all the best secluded, high end vacation spots are."

Star's eyes lit up at the destination confirmation, briefly forgetting about the weight of their current situation. "We used to take family vacations there every year! They have _all_ the best stuff! The stores are huuuge, and there's so many things to do. They have beautiful white sandy beaches overlooking the crystal clear ocean, and rivers for boating, swimming, and diving, there's warnicorn racing, all sorts of sparring, and the food. Mmmm the food there, I swear is touched by one of the seven. It's to die for." Star fixated on the food she was thinking about, letting a bit of drool run down her lip.

"Star." Janna snapped in front of her. "Food later. Mission briefing now."

Star shook her head and put her game face on. "Right." She nodded.

"Okay, so you two are going to have to get in there and track it down the old fashion way. Ask around, bribe people, threaten them if you have to. You know, the good stuff. But find it. Something stupidly powerful like this can't be in the hands of some half-wit marauder. It should be in the hands of a genius mage who can hold her own and is the _best damn enchanter_ this side of the _god_ forsaken universe!" Her teeth ground together following her small rant.

"You okay?" Marco asked. "Cause you don't seem okay..."

"Well if I don't seem okay, it's probably because I'm not, genius." Janna glared back at him.

"Okay." Marco squeaked.

"We have to have some girl talk later, Janna. For now, what else can you tell us?" Star asked.

Janna sighed, visibly relaxing at the change in topic. "Well, outside of the fact that the piece is somewhere in this circle, nothing actually. Since its within such a developed area, I'm not sure where it could actually be hiding, so anything could be a trap, diversion, or interference. You just have to be careful and smart about what you're doing. I'd say try finding some hunters first. Some of them may have caught wind of it and could spill info with a nudge in the right direction." Janna formed her fingers into the shape of a gun.

"We're not killing anyone. Especially not for what could be false information." Marco said flatly.

"Yeah, yeah. You're a pansy, I get it." Janna waved him off. "But hunters will probably know best. Just try and find some that don't look too intimidating. The bigger ones are usually the dumber ones anyway. Skinny weirdos like Marco should be good sources."

Marco rolled his eyes at the jab. He looked down and started adjusting himself in the suit. "Could you make these things any tighter? I don't think I'll be able to have kids if it stays like this much longer."

Janna let a maniacal grin slip. "Speaking of that, come here. We need to activate it." She started walking towards the bathroom Marco changed in.

"Okay." Marco replied, still fidgeting with himself and completely ignorant of what was to come. "Hey, this won't be like the armor's activation, will it? That was so painful..." He winced at the thought of how much pain he was in when getting the prototype suit. He felt like a peasant getting reprimanded in ancient times for taking a loaf of bread. The searing pain may have left his body, but the emotional scars it left are everlasting.

"Nah. This isn't like the prototype's setup." Janna said calmly. She opened the door for Marco to walk in, and gave Star that same devilish smile before following him in and closing the door.

Star looked down at her forearm. This was like one of those fancy Earth communication devices they had in movies. 'Holograms' is what she thought she remembered Marco calling them. She began swiping through the options, looking for anything interesting. Telephone? No. Body temperature thermostat. Cooler. Stadium buddy? Confused, she pressed it, and shreaked at something poking her where things should not poke. She frantically tried to undo it. Pass on that one.

Now what's next… Camouflage? Now we're getting somewhere. She scrolled through the menu which was organized by dimension and subsequently locations within that dimension. It had all different types of styles for each location. Formal wear, sports wear, day-to-day clothes, scenic wear, automatic. Automatic seemed good. She pressed the button and the pink lines over her suit began to glow, as the rest of the suit followed. Quickly, the purple and pink she so adored transformed into her normal outfit; her teal dress with a pink ghost, pink and purple striped leggings, demonic boots, and red devil horns. It even fit better than her own clothes. She did a once over to check just how close it was to her normal outfit, and she had to admit, it was spot on. Before she could admire it anymore, she heard a scream come from behind her and she jumped. She pulled out her wand and got ready to blow away anything that came from that direction. Star dropped her wand after she realized the screams of pain to be Marco's, coming from the bathroom.

Janna opened the door revealing herself and Marco, who was barely holding himself up on the sink. His short raspy breathing echoed throughout Janna's workplace. Janna looked back at him. "Oh come on, Marco. Star wasn't that big of a pansy. You shouldn't be either. I get you're no warrior princess, but come on man. Pull it together." She walked out, leaving Marco behind. "Men. Am I right?" She shook her head disapprovingly.

Marco slowly limped out of the bathroom clutching his face. "Everything hurts." He moaned.

"Yeah I figured that would happen." Janna said, walking back towards the table that held the map. "But let's get down to business now that both of your suits are active. First thing's first; you can't just go in guns blazing. For one, the whole area has advanced Tramorfidian Crystal towers. Blocks inward scissoring, but not outward scissoring in case of emergencies. So you'll have to go in through the main gate. Next, find where the hilt is hidden. Talk to locals, frequent flyers, and especially hunters. They know where the good shit is. Find it, and get out. Who knows what kinds of traps or attention could get to you if you're there for too long."

"Sounds easy enough." Star chimed. "And if anyone gets in our way, we'll just have to beat 'em down." She punched her open palm.

"I'm all for warranted beatdowns, but I don't think we should draw attention to ourselves like that. It could really hinder our ability to find it by drawing way too much attention to us." Marco added. "In fact, if we can get in there, grab the piece, and get out, all without being slapped around, it would be perfect."

"I'm actually with the safe kid on this one. If nobody sees you, you're much better off. While the main section is a tourist haven, close areas around it are where the scum lie. You're better off quiet because if they catch wind of who you are and what you're looking for, you're dead." Janna crossed her arms.

"Fiine." Star protested. "We'll do it the safe and _boring_ way. But just so you know Janna, I'm disappointed in you.

"I can live with that. Now let's get a move on. I want to see what all I can conjure up once I have the info on how this thing works." Janna smiled maliciously.

"Oh there is no way that you're-"

"YEAH! Let's go!" Star screamed. She grabbed Marco by the arm with one hand, opened a portal with the other, and pulled them both through before Marco could even protest.

Janna let out a snort. "They are so boned."

* * *

**Starco4everr: We will definitely get there!**

**lordcornwalis: Thank you! And they don't have any romantic involvement with each other at the moment, but that's going to be gradually addressed.**


End file.
